The Theatre
Teatro Comunale reopens: on 14 February 2027 the Sala Bibiena welcomes audiences back
Teatro Comunale reopens: on 14 February 2027 the Sala Bibiena welcomes audiences back
On 14 February 2027 Teatro Comunale di Bologna returns to its historic home. After the refurbishment and restoration works begun in December 2022, the Sala Bibiena reopens on St Valentine’s Day with a concert conducted by Daniele Gatti, the Theatre’s music director from 1997 to 2007, bringing together all the artistic ensembles in symphonic and choral music by Gluck, Rossini, Verdi and Wagner.
The celebration continues beyond the Theatre as well: from 14 February to 14 March there is an event dedicated to the reopening every single day.
More than a finishing line, the reopening marks the end of a journey: the one the Theatre has symbolically called “Towards Ithaca”. Besides the restoration of the vault and the stuccowork, the works have created a new wing facing via del Guasto, born of a precise request from the city: to make the Comunale more open, more accessible and more closely woven into urban life.
For Matteo Lepore, Mayor of Bologna and President of the Foundation, the reopening is «a historic moment for our city»: «We are giving back to the people one of the most important places of our cultural identity».
The homecoming sets the tone for the 2027 Season, “Many stories, one common thread”. The Opera Season opens on 2 March with Monteverdi’s Il ritorno di Ulisse in patria in Dallapiccola’s transcription, never before staged at the Comunale, in a new production by Daniele Abbado conducted by Fabio Biondi. The programme features seven fully staged titles, among them Tristan und Isolde, Nabucco and the Italian premiere of Accabadora by Francesco Filidei. The Dance Season opens on 13 March with Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring danced by Sergio Bernal, with the Comunale’s Orchestra playing live.
While they wait to come back, all 2027 Season subscribers can visit the building site in autumn 2026, by asking at the box office when they subscribe or renew.
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Where the restoration of the Comunale is measured in centimetres.
On the scaffolding beneath the ceiling of Teatro Comunale di Bologna, even the labels on the jars tell a story. “Raw umber”, “burnt sienna”, they read: pigments with old names, sitting beside swabs and mixtures prepared on the spot. This is the domain of Phyllis Novara, site manager for Leonardo
Inside a hidden corner of the building site.
There is a place in Teatro Comunale di Bologna that the public never sees: it lies above the vault of the Sala Bibiena. With 198 days to go to the reopening on 14 February 2027, that is where the heart of the site beats. On the scaffolding built up against the ceiling works Adele Galetti, site director for Leonardo, the firm carrying out the restoration: «We are on the ceiling scaffolding and the restoration of the wall paintings is under way. Behind me are the restorers at work».
«A historic theatre never stops living». Restorer Bevilacqua on the Comunale’s building site
212 days to 14 February 2027, the date on which Teatro Comunale di Bologna will open its doors again. On the scaffolding that fills the Sala Bibiena today, the conservation and maintenance of the surfaces advances centimetre by centimetre, led by Fabio Bevilacqua, conservator of cultural heritage and operations director of the works, who drew up the project together with the architect Francesco Dalmastri.