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It promises to be a season of great events. In September, a production of Gaetano Donizetti's Anna Bolena will be staged at the LAC-Lugano, and in February, it will be performed at theatres in Reggio Emilia, Modena and Piacenza.
Extraordinary concerts will be held in Locarno in honour of the healthcare workers involved during the pandemic and in Bellinzona in aid of the Associazione Mani per il Nepal. The 'Caro Sassone' concert in the auditorium will celebrate the young 'Italian' Handel. The highlight of the season may well be Bach's magnificent 'Passion According to John' at the LAC during Easter. On Good Friday in Bellinzona, the Coro RSI will perform Brahms' 'German Requiem' in a large formation, while a chamber ensemble of Barocchisti will bring the Accademia Filarmonica Romana's concert season at the Teatro Argentina to a close.
Upcoming concerts
Spiritual Concert for the Holy Week
3 April 2026
20:00h
Chiesa Collegiata
Bellinzona
Concerto del Venerdì Santo
Betty Makharinsky, soprano
Coro della Radiotelevisione svizzera
Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana
Diego Fasolis, conductor
Music byFrancesco Hoch, John Rutter, Giuseppe Verdi
Past concerts
St. John Passion, BWV 245 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Considered one of Johann Sebastian Bach's most important compositions, St John Passion is regarded as one of the grandest and most monumental works of sacred music ever written. It was conceived during the musician's first year in Leipzig, when he took up the position of Kantor at the Thomaskirche, the city's second largest church.
Presumably composed during Lent 1724, it incorporates excerpts from cantatas written during Bach's time in Weimar and is based on chapters 18 and 19 of the Gospel According to John. It consists of an alternation of recitatives and choruses interspersed with arias and chorales providing theological commentary on the events. The libretto, which is generally attributed to Bach himself, juxtaposes the Gospel text with other sources, most notably the Passion of the renowned German poet Barthold Heinrich Brockes. The work was first performed on Good Friday in 1724 at the Nikolaikirche.
The Four Seasons Symphonies and Arias from Farnace and Orlando Furioso by Antonio Vivaldi
Recognition and Rebirth, Extraordinary Concert Dedicated to the Healthcare Personnel of Southern Switzerland
