International Day of the Intangible Cultural Heritage – 17 October 2025

PRESS RELEASE

The Committee for the Safeguarding of the Art of Italian Opera Singing gives voice to the initiatives of Italian theatres

On the occasion of the International Day of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, established by UNESCO and celebrated on 17 October 2025, the Committee for the Safeguarding of the Art of Italian Opera Singing—the community body serving as a reference point for the Italian Ministry of Culture and UNESCO—acts as spokesperson for the initiatives promoted throughout Italy by opera and symphonic foundations, traditional theatres, singing schools, and musical institutions, all united by the shared commitment to protect and transmit the art of opera singing, inscribed in 2023 on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The Art of Italian Opera Singing as Intangible Heritage

In accordance with the principles of the 2003 UNESCO Convention, the art of Italian opera singing is recognized as a living performing practice, based on oral and intergenerational transmission between masters and students. It involves a true heritage community made up of singers, vocal teachers, musicians, accompanists, conductors, artisans, technicians, theatre institutions, and audiences.

Opera singing integrates vocal technique, the Italian language, dramaturgy, historical memory, and contemporary creativity, making it one of the most representative elements of national cultural identity and a model of excellence acknowledged worldwide.

Its safeguarding, following UNESCO recommendations, entails not only the protection of tradition but also the support of the practice’s vitality, the training of young artists, research, community access, and the capacity to adapt to contemporary contexts.

The initiatives promoted by various Italian theatres, each independent in its programming, are presented under the shared project entitled: “Opera Without Borders: Italian Theatres for the International Day of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.”

A Nationwide Participation

The celebration also involves some of Italy’s leading opera institutions, which have chosen to mark the International Day of the Intangible Cultural Heritage through their scheduled performances, renewing their commitment to safeguarding the practice of opera singing in Italy, within the framework of the initiative promoted by the Committee for the Safeguarding of the Art of Italian Opera Singing.

• Teatro alla Scala, Milan, celebrates the Day with the performance on 17 October of La fille du régiment by Gaetano Donizetti.

• Teatro Comunale di Bologna marks the Day with the concert “The Art of Bel Canto”, scheduled for Sunday, 19 October at 11:00 a.m. at the Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna, as part of the Le Domeniche in Musica series. The performers will be young artists from the TCBO Opera School, presenting works by Rossini, Donizetti, Cilea, Giordano, Mascagni, and Verdi.

• Teatro G.B. Pergolesi, Jesi, celebrates the occasion with the second performance of Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, where the art of opera singing meets the great Central European musical tradition.

• Teatro Ponchielli, Cremona, marks the Day with a performance of L’elisir d’amore by Gaetano Donizetti.

• Festival Verdi, Parma, celebrates by presenting the world premiere of 89 seconds to midnight, an opera by composer Maria Vincenza Cabizza—evidence that contemporary creativity continues to nurture the art of opera singing.

These initiatives demonstrate the strength, continuity, and vitality of Italy’s operatic system, capable of honoring its intangible heritage both through the masterpieces of the historical repertoire and through new productions and innovative languages.

The Committee thanks all theatres and institutions taking part and reaffirms its role as national spokesperson, committed to giving visibility, recognition, and collective strength to the extraordinary vitality of opera singing in Italy—a living heritage that unites communities, generations, and territories.