Five Mascarade Opera events, Vox Medicea’s debut album, the debut of Nouveaux Ballets Russes and the tenth anniversary of the New Generation Festival
Florence, 1 October 2026 – A new encounter with young opera artists, the rediscovery of sacred music from Medici Florence, the birth of a new ballet company and a five-day festival celebrating an important milestone: the New Generation Foundation presents the projects that will take audiences from autumn 2026 to summer 2027. At their heart are Mascarade Opera’s concert season, Vox Medicea’s debut album for Arcana, the debut of Nouveaux Ballets Russes and the tenth anniversary of the New Generation Festival.
A journey through the great operatic repertoire and chamber music, with an eye on music’s future, is the thread running through Mascarade Opera’s 2026/27 season. The New Generation Foundation’s advanced artist-development programme presents five events featuring emerging artists from across the world. The season underlines Mascarade Opera’s mission: to combine performance opportunities with focused artistic development and individual career guidance, supporting emerging performers as they take their first professional steps. Artists work with leading industry professionals, opera companies and agencies, gaining the experience and connections needed to establish themselves on the international stage.
The season opens on 8 October 2026 at Palazzo Corsini al Prato, the Foundation’s home, with “Laurus Florentiae”, a concert introducing the new cohort of Emerging Artists selected through Mascarade Opera’s international auditions. Young singers and répétiteurs from China, New Zealand, Portugal, South Korea, the United States, Canada and Spain will perform some of opera’s best-loved arias.
During the evening, the artists will receive the prestigious “Laurus Florentiae” award, together with silver pins specially made by historic Florentine silversmith Pampaloni, the event’s sponsor. It will be the audience’s first opportunity to meet the performers who will also appear in the season’s staged productions in the months ahead.
On 24 October, “Tristia: Viaggi romantici” brings together chamber music masterpieces by Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Liszt and Antonín Dvořák. The performers will be violinist Tijmen Huisingh, cellist Johan van Iersel and Mascarade Opera’s Artistic Director, Julia Lynch, at the piano.
Among the season’s principal new offerings is “Opera a Palazzo”, a series of staged performances that weave scenes from different operas into a single theatrical narrative.
The series opens on 12 November 2026 with “Verità e Clemenza”, directed by Patrick Lynch. Scenes from Giacomo Puccini’s La bohème and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito are interwoven in a theatrical exploration of love in its many forms. The second “Opera a Palazzo” performance, “Poesie d’aria”, will take place on 25 February 2027.
The season also includes one of the Florentine audience’s most eagerly awaited events: “A Christmas Celebration”, the traditional free Christmas concert, on 5 December 2026 at the Church of Santi Michele e Gaetano. The concert will bring together Vox Medicea and the Coro di Santo Spirito, directed by Mark Spyropoulos, alongside Mascarade Opera’s Emerging Artists. They will be joined by the English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble and the orchestra La Filharmonie, conducted by Nima Keshavarzi. The programme pairs the great Christmas oratorios of Handel, Mozart and Bach with a selection of rare and little-known works from the Florentine Renaissance, celebrating both the sacred choral tradition and the city’s extraordinary musical heritage.
This exploration of Florence’s Renaissance musical heritage is also at the heart of Sacred Masterpieces of the Medici, the first volume of a three-part recording project that Vox Medicea will release with the Arcana label in spring 2027. Research begun in 2018 by the ensemble’s director, Mark Spyropoulos, and musicologist Giordano Mastrocola has led to the transcription of more than 150 motets, as well as Masses, Magnificats, psalms, cantatas and laude held in European archives and libraries. Founded in 2020, the male vocal ensemble Vox Medicea continues to perform this repertoire with the English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble, with the support of the New Generation Foundation. Alongside these historic works, the project includes the world première recording of a motet by the acclaimed composer Nico Muhly, inspired by an anonymous Florentine work.
“Florence is known around the world for its Renaissance art, yet its sacred music remains one of the least familiar chapters of that history. With Vox Medicea, we want to bring this tradition back to light through research and performance, giving a voice to works and composers who have been forgotten for far too long,” says Mark Spyropoulos, Artistic Director of Vox Medicea.
Alongside its research and concerts, Vox Medicea supports the next generation through two projects: the Florence Choral Course, an international summer course devoted entirely to Italian Renaissance music, and the Coro di Santo Spirito, established in partnership with the Basilica di Santo Spirito, which offers twelve young singers based in Florence scholarships funded by the New Generation Foundation.
As previously announced, Nouveaux Ballets Russes, the international ballet company co-founded by the New Generation Foundation and Artistic Director Xander Parish, will make its debut on 14 March 2027 with a new production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, co-produced with Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Marking 150 years since the ballet’s first performance, the production will feature choreography by Xander Parish, James Conlon conducting the Orchestra del Maggio, and stage direction by Jean-Romain Vesperini.
The New Generation Foundation’s season culminates from 2 to 6 June 2027 with the tenth anniversary of the New Generation Festival. Five days of opera, ballet, jazz, sacred, chamber and orchestral music will bring some of Florence’s most distinguished venues to life, uniting emerging talents, established soloists and international ensembles. It will be an opportunity to celebrate ten years of activity and to continue the Foundation’s work of bringing new generations of artists together with internationally experienced performers.
Ubi floret ingenium
Supporting a new generation of artists, creating new productions and inspiring audiences.
The New Generation Foundation is an independent non-profit foundation based at Palazzo Corsini al Prato in Florence. Its story begins in 2017 with the New Generation Festival, founded by Frankie Parham, Roger Granville and Maximilian Fane to champion exceptional young performing artists from around the world. The Festival’s success and growing international recognition, including the landmark ReGeneration Festival presented in collaboration with the Uffizi Galleries in summer 2020, have helped the Foundation become a significant cultural institution on the international stage.
Through its four projects — New Generation Festival, Mascarade Opera, Vox Medicea and Nouveaux Ballets Russes — the Foundation promotes artistic excellence.
“The New Generation Foundation was born of a simple conviction: investing in young artists is one of the most meaningful ways to build the future of culture. Every project we develop, from opera to sacred music, ballet and the festival itself, reflects our commitment to artistic excellence, the development of young talent and audience engagement,” says Roger Granville, Executive President and Co-founder of the New Generation Foundation. “We do more than present performances: we are building a creative ecosystem in which emerging talents can collaborate with internationally renowned artists, audiences can encounter innovative artistic ideas, and Florence can continue to affirm its place as a capital of cultural innovation.”
“Florence once again demonstrates its ability to safeguard its extraordinary cultural heritage while looking to the future,” said Giovanni Bettarini, Florence’s Councillor for Culture. “The work of the New Generation Foundation follows precisely this path: investing in young talent, creating opportunities for international exchange and rediscovering lesser-known musical heritage, such as that of Renaissance Florence. Mascarade Opera’s new season, the Vox Medicea project and the tenth anniversary of the New Generation Festival thus enrich Florence’s cultural life, strengthening the connection between our tradition and new generations of artists and audiences.”
“Supporting new generations of artists and offering them practical opportunities means investing in the future of culture. In Florence, the New Generation Foundation brings together advanced training, artistic production and the promotion of an extraordinary musical heritage, enabling young talent from around the world to develop and work with professionals of international standing,” says Cristina Manetti, Tuscany’s Regional Councillor for Culture. “The research and rediscovery of Renaissance Florence’s music is particularly important, allowing audiences to encounter lesser-known chapters of our history. The tenth anniversary of the New Generation Festival therefore represents a significant milestone and once again confirms the ability of Florence and Tuscany to be places of encounter, training and cultural production that are open to the world.”
For Mascarade Opera performances at Palazzo Corsini al Prato (Via il Prato, 56), doors open at 6pm and performances begin at 7pm.
8 October 2026 Laurus Florentiae
24 October 2026 Tristia: Viaggi romantici
12 November 2026 Opera a Palazzo: Verità e Clemenza
5 December 2026 A Christmas Celebration! (free concert, Church of Santi Michele e Gaetano)
25 February 2027 Opera a Palazzo: Poesie d’aria
Tickets: €20, or €10 for under-35s, available through Evients.
Nouveaux Ballets Russes will debut with Swan Lake (co-produced with Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino), from 14 to 21 March 2027 at Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.
Further information and tickets: https://www.maggiofiorentino.com/en/events/il-lago-dei-cigni-2027/
Tenth-anniversary edition: 2–6 June 2027
The New Generation Foundation
Palazzo Corsini al Prato
Via il Prato, 56, Florence
Website: www.newgenerationfoundation.com
General enquiries: info@newgenerationfoundation.com
Giacomo Guerrini
Tel. +39 335 6063751
Email: guerrini@incipitcomunicazione.it
Elisa Nello
Tel. +39 366 4051903
Email: en@newgenerationfoundation.com
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