An Autumn of Music: Vivaldi and the Violin Across Italy
From Milan to Cagliari, from Bergamo to Padua: four cities, four extraordinary venues and a journey through some of the most captivating pages of classical music.
Some music can conjure up an image before you even close your eyes. A sudden summer storm, the wind, birdsong, the stillness of winter. That is exactly what happens with Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, one of the world’s best-known Italian compositions and, almost three centuries after it was written, still astonishingly modern.
In autumn 2026, Opera e Lirica takes this masterpiece on a journey across Italy, with three performances in Milan, Cagliari and Bergamo. The final stop will be Violin Love in Padua, an evening entirely dedicated to the beauty and expressive voice of the violin.
Milan — Vivaldi in the Heart of the City
The journey begins in Milan on 17 October at the Auditorium San Fedele, just a short walk from the Duomo. On stage, violin soloist and concertmaster Elvin Dhimitri joins the Opera e Lirica ensemble, featuring string quintet and harpsichord.
From the lightness of Spring to the storm of Summer, from the dance of Autumn to the icy stillness of Winter, Vivaldi transforms nature into music. You don’t need to know Baroque music to follow it. Just listen.
Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons
Milan · Auditorium San Fedele · 17 October 2026 · 8:30 PM
Cagliari — The Four Seasons in an Art Nouveau Theatre
On 30 October, Vivaldi arrives in Cagliari at the elegant Teatro delle Saline, a venue with a distinctive atmosphere and Art Nouveau charm. Once again, Elvin Dhimitri takes centre stage, joined by the strings and harpsichord of the Opera e Lirica ensemble. Italian Baroque music meets the atmosphere of a historic theatre in a city overlooking the Mediterranean.
Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons
Cagliari · Teatro delle Saline · 30 October 2026 · 8:30 PM
Bergamo — Vivaldi in the Magic of Città Alta
On 7 November, the journey continues to Bergamo and the elegant Sala Piatti, in the heart of CittĂ Alta, surrounded by narrow streets, historic palaces and the Venetian Walls. Sala Piatti offers a completely different experience: intimate, elegant and remarkably close to the musicians.
And perhaps it is precisely in such an intimate setting that you can best appreciate just how “visual” The Four Seasons can be: rustling leaves, thunderstorms, wind and ice seem to come alive through the instruments.
Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons
Bergamo · Sala Piatti · 7 November 2026 · 8:30 PM
Padua — When the Violin Tells a Story of Love
On 13 November, Violin Love arrives in the spectacular Sala dei Giganti at Palazzo Liviano in Padua. This time, Elvin Dhimitri’s violin, accompanied by string quartet and piano, travels across different eras and musical genres: from Beethoven’s Romance to the cinematic world of Ennio Morricone and the unmistakable rhythm of Astor Piazzolla’s Libertango.
The concert is built around one of the violin’s most fascinating qualities: its extraordinary ability to sound almost like a human voice. And the Sala dei Giganti, with its monumental proportions and magnificent frescoed walls, becomes part of the experience itself.
Violin Love
Padua · Sala dei Giganti, Palazzo Liviano · 13 November 2026 · 8:30 PM
Four Cities, One Journey
Milan, Cagliari, Bergamo and Padua. Four very different cities and four evenings in which music also becomes a way of discovering a destination. Because a concert does not necessarily begin when the musician plays the first note. It can begin while walking through the centre of Milan, stepping inside a theatre in Cagliari, making your way up to Bergamo’s Città Alta or crossing a piazza in Padua.
That is the idea behind our autumn journey. Listen to the music. Discover Italy.
