Riccardo Muti and Wiener Philharmoniker to Open 25th Sacred Music Festival in Rome

Riccardo Muti will conduct the Wiener Philharmoniker on Nov. 21, 2026 to open the 25th edition of the Festival Internazionale di Musica e Arte Sacra. The festival runs four days, from Nov. 21 to 24, 2026, in Rome and in the Vatican.

The anniversary edition places its biggest names on its first night. Muti leads Mozart's Messa dell'incoronazione K 317 and Ave Verum Corpus K 618. The vocal quartet features soprano Rosa Feola, mezzo-soprano Nina van Essen, Giovanni Sala and bass Alexander Grassauer. That is a heavyweight lineup for a festival marking its quarter-century milestone. In plain terms: the opening concert alone brings one of the world's top conductors, one of its top orchestras and four international soloists to a single stage.

What does the full programme look like?

The festival spreads five events across four sacred venues in Rome and Vatican City. Each concert pairs a major ensemble with a historic basilica or church.

• Nov. 21, 2026 — Opening concert. Riccardo Muti conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker in Mozart's Messa dell'incoronazione K 317 and Ave Verum Corpus K 618, with Rosa Feola, Nina van Essen, Giovanni Sala and Alexander Grassauer.
• Nov. 21, 2026 — Basilica Papale di San Pietro, Vatican. The Guillou Consort performs sacred music from the 1800s and 1900s.
• Nov. 22, 2026 — Basilica Papale di San Paolo. The Coro dell'Escolanía del Escorial performs sacred repertoire under conductor José María Abad Bolufer.
• Nov. 23, 2026 — Monteverdi Vespers. Marios Papadopoulos conducts the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir in Monteverdi's Il Vespro della Beata Vergine.
• Nov. 24, 2026 — Closing concert. The Stiftsmusik St. Peter performs at the Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio di Loyola with soprano Ekaterina Krasko, conducted by Peter Peinstingl.

How does the programme balance the anniversary edition?

The 25th edition mixes the Viennese symphonic tradition with smaller choral and consort formats. The opening night carries the star power; the middle days shift to sacred choral repertoire spanning the 19th and 20th centuries plus the early Baroque of Monteverdi's 1610 Vespers. The Guillou Consort's programme at St. Peter's Basilica covers two centuries of sacred music, while the Oxford Philharmonic's Vespers stands as the festival's sole large-scale early-music offering. The takeaway: the festival balances one flagship orchestral event with four choral programmes rooted in liturgical tradition.

The closing concert on Nov. 24 moves to the Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio di Loyola, a Roman baroque church in the city centre. Soprano Ekaterina Krasko joins the Stiftsmusik St. Peter under conductor Peter Peinstingl to close the anniversary edition. For a festival that has now run for a quarter of a century, the 2026 edition signals continuity — Vatican basilicas, sacred repertoire and top-tier international ensembles — anchored by Muti's Mozart on opening night.