The X Festival di Sant’Efisio centres on the “The Flying Dutchman” by Richard Wagner, from 16th to 26th April, in a staging by the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, which will be presented by the musicologist Maurizio Giani on Friday 9th April at 7pm, in a conference open to the public,. Several other interesting side events will also be taking place: Tuesday 13th April the pre-dress rehearsal will be open to schools and to voluntary associations and their members; Monday 19th April and Friday 23rd April: Performances for schools.

The Festival continues on Saturday 10th April at 7pm, with a performance by the British tenor Ian Bostridge accompanied by the British pianist Graham Johnson in a unique evening of refined chamber music, dedicated to Lieder by Schumann and by Brahms, to verses by Heinrich Heine and other poets. On Friday 23rd April at 8.30pm, “I Solisti dell’Accademia Internazionale di Musica di Cagliari” perform for the first time at the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari (not included on season ticket). On Wednesday 28th April at 8.30pm the in-house ensembles return, conducted by Filippo Maria Bressan, with the beautiful Petite messe solennelle by Gioachino Rossini. On Thursday 29th April at 8.30pm, Les Percussions de Strasbourg perform; the unusual, but most charming instrumental ensemble established in 1962 is made up of six musicians and performs pieces from a vast repertoire of nineteenth century percussion music. The evening is entitled: Un secolo di percussioni, tra classicismo e innovazione (A century of percussions from classicism to innovation). The closing concerts for the X Festival di Sant’Efisio are: on 7th and 8th May. Pinchas Steinberg from Israel, conducts the Teatro Lirico Orchestra, and the violin virtuoso Arabella Steinbacher performing two of Čajkovskij’s most famous pieces: Concerto in D major and the Fifth Symphony; on 12th May Antonio Pappano, in Cagliari for the first time, conducts the Kaleido Ensemble and the soprano Rachel Harnisch, who perform Siegfried Idyll by Richard Wagner and the Fourth Symphony by Gustav Mahler.

From 8th April to 12th May the Teatro Lirico presents the exhibition La macchina delle meraviglie: il congegno di scena negli allestimenti del Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, in which the public will find the atmosphere and the emotions that have marked the staging of various operatic performances over the past few years, through creations by the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari Technical workshops. From 21st May to 12th July, the stalls foyer hosts the exhibtion MAT – musica arte teatro Artisti latino americani contemporanei (Contemporary Latin American Artists); it is the fifth appointment with the visual project. The exhibition features an articulated overview of contemporary Central-South America, a mine of ideas for artists and designers of varied origins and cultural matrices.

The Teatro Lirico di Cagliari participates once again in the 12th Cultural Week, organized by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage from Friday 16th to Sunday 25th April, contributing culturally, with the organization with the Festival, with opera, concerts and musical performances, guided tours and exhibitions in collaboration with the Conservatorio Statale di Musica “Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina” and the Association “Italia Nostra”, Cagliari. For the first time the theatre will be holding a theatrical property workshop, “La fabbrica delle illusioni”, to discover and create set materials, objects and props. Maximum 20 particpants per day.

As part of the Festival, on Friday 30th April, Elio from “Elio e le storie tese” takes on “Figaro il barbiere”, from the tale by Roberto Fabbriciani with music from “The Barber of Seville” by Gioachino Rossini.

Two interesting conferences, open to the public, will take place: on Tuesday 4th May at 7pm, Enzo Restagno presents his book “Ravel e l’anima delle cose” and on Thursday 6th May at 7pm, Angelo Foletto presents Myriam Quaquero’s book dedicated to “Ennio Porrino”.

On Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th May the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari participates in the event “Cagliari Monumenti Aperti” (Monuments open to the public) for the fourth time. This is the 14th edition of the event and includes a series of guided tours of the Theatre, in collaboration with the Conservatorio Statale di Musica “Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina” and the Association “Italia Nostra”, Cagliari.

The second appointment with opera is from 31st May to 9th June, with the eagerly awaited return of the absolute masterpiece of musical bel canto: I Puritani by Vincenzo Bellini (Catania, 1801 - Puteaux, Paris, 1835), which has not been staged in Cagliari for 128 years. Pier’Alli, visionary artist from Florence and creator of unforgettable shows, is totally responsible for the staging, directing in Cagliari for the first time. Ramon Tebar conducts the Teatro Lirico Orchestra and Chorus; the young Spanish conductor possesses a vast repertoire and numerous collaborations with the best musical institutions.
Piero Mioli, music critic, presents the opera, on Monday 24th May at 7pm, in a conference in the stalls foyer.

The X Festival di Sant’Efisio closes on Monday 7th June with the musical reading of Ottavio Olita's novel “Il futuro sospeso”, entitled “Fiori di Iacaranda”, with piano accompaniment by Romeo Scaccia, read by Giancarlo Buffa. Speakers Celestino Tabasso and Serena Schiffini.

The stars of the Festival are artists from various backgrounds and with differing horizons. They come together for a common cause: to pay their respects on the occasion of this religious festival of such importance and involving artists and participants of great artist value.