Easter Festival 2026

The “Festival di Pasqua” founded and directed by the cellist Ludovica Rana, is a three-day event produced by the Associazione Musicale Opera Prima. It will take place in Lecce, in the splendid Church of San Francesco della Scarpa, on April 3, 4, and 5, 2026.Ten artists in residence in Lecce, a fascinating Baroque city in southern Salento, will bring to life a three-day event featuring masterpieces of chamber music presented to the public.Every major European capital or city with a strong artistic identity hosts its own Easter Festival in spring. Lecce and the Salento area are increasingly becoming destinations for Italian and international tourists drawn by their architectural and natural beauty. Offering an artistic event of a level comparable to major European centers enhances and complements the richness of the region’s cultural and territorial attractions.Spring returns, like a deep breath after the silence of winter, like a light gently settling on the white stones of Lecce’s Baroque architecture, kindling new emotions and fresh artistic curiosities. The Easter Festival is born from this vibrant, pulsating energy. It brings with it excellence, the intimacy of the great chamber music repertoire, and the courage of discovery. Alongside the immortal masterpieces of tradition, less frequently performed works—precious and extraordinarily surprising—will resound. The protagonists will be the musicians of L’Appassionata, a leading presence on the international artistic scene, admired for the intensity of its interpretations and the refined quality of its productions. In the heart of Lecce, the Easter Festival seeks to present itself as a shared emotion, a meeting renewed through music that brings together all those who are passionate about beauty,” declares Ludovica Rana, the Festival’s Artistic Director.The program of the third edition is structured as follows:Friday, April 3, 2026 - 7:30 PMN. Rota Trio for Flute, Cello and PianoF. Schubert Quartet D810 “Death and the Maiden”Version for string orchestra by G. MahlerSaturday, April 4, 2026 - 7:30 PMA. Dvořák String Quintet No. 2, Op. 77E. Grieg Holberg Suite, Op. 40Sunday, April 5, 2026 - 7:30 PMG. Martucci Nocturne, Op. 70 No. 1 for string sextetG. Puccini Crisantemi, Elegy for stringsN. Rota Concerto for Strings

Interpreters:Chamber Orchestra L’AppassionataTommaso BencioliniElisa SpremulliIrenè FioritoEleonora BartoliFausto CigariniLorenzo BoninsegnaLudovica RanaLorenzo GuidaAngelica GasparettiMaddalena Giacopuzzi