Rossini's Il viaggio a Reims at the Salzburg Festival 2026

Cecilia Bartoli and Marina Viotti lead an exceptional lineup of opera stars in the 2026 Salzburg Festival production of Rossini's Il viaggio a Reims, staged with exuberant color and dynamism by Barrie Kosky! The final Italian-language opera by Rossini, Il viaggio a Reims was written to accompany the coronation of King Charles X in Reims in 1825 and only performed four times before falling into obscurity for a century and a half. Rediscovered and reconstructed in the 1970s and finally performed again in 1984, this lighthearted piece — which boasts some of Rossini's finest music — brings together a multinational cast of characters staying at a hotel on their way to the big event, revealing their whims, foibles, and hypocrisies. The unusually large cast of featured performers includes, but is not limited to, the "exceptional musical intelligence" and "exquisite pianissimi" of the legendary Bartoli as Corinna; Mélissa Petit's "bright, gleaming soprano and dazzling coloratura" in the role of the Contessa di Folleville; a "superb" Viotti as the Marchesa Melibea, whose "deep, bronzed mezzo-soprano [is] velvety and seductive"; Tara Erraught's (Madama Cortese) "remarkable versatility" and "light, silvery tone"; and the "irresistible" Misha Kiria as Baron Trombonok, whose "powerful bass [anchors] the proceedings" (Bachtrack).

Cecilia Bartoli has been a Rolex Testimonee since 1994.
Photo © Salzburg Festival / Monika Rittershaus