MILAN.- From 19 to 30 November 2025 the public will be able to attend a series of lessons and rehearsals, led by Riccardo Muti and dedicated to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Don Giovanni, which will conclude with a concert directed by the Maestro. The audience will have the opportunity to witness all stages of preparation and realization of an opera, as well as Riccardo Muti’s teachings aimed at young conductors, musicians, and singers.
The carnets for all events are now available on the Fondazione Prada’s website (fondazioneprada.org). Single tickets for rehearsals and the concert will be on sale from Wednesday 11 June 2025.
The Deposito, the largest space in Fondazione Prada’s Milan headquarters, will be turned into a concert hall to host Riccardo Muti at the helm of the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini in an educational project for young orchestra conductors and répétiteurs. Selected through an international call by a committee chaired by the Maestro, participants will be between the age of 18 and 35 and have graduated in Conducting or Piano, either in Italy or abroad.
On Wednesday, 19 November at 8 p.m., the 2025 edition of the “Riccardo Muti Italian Opera Academy” will be inaugurated with a lesson concert by Riccardo Muti, dedicated to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Don Giovanni. From 20 to 23 November and from 25 to 26 November, rehearsals open to the public will be held in the mornings from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and in the afternoons from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Over the course of six days, young conductors and répétiteurs, guided by the Maestro, will deepen their knowledge on the opera in all its phases: from piano rehearsals with singers to ensemble rehearsals with the orchestra and chorus. The project will continue on Thursday, 27 November at 5 p.m. with the final rehearsal of the young conductors presented by the Maestro, and will conclude on Sunday, 30 November at 7 p.m. with the Don Giovanni concert directed by Riccardo Muti.
Riccardo Muti’s focus on music education has always been a constant element of his artistic practice. With his Academy, he intends to share with young musicians what he learnt from his great Maestros and accompany them in the process of interpreting and performing an opera. Moreover, the series of lessons and rehearsals open to the public will offer to all those attending, the opportunity to take part in an inspiring learning experience in the field of classical music.
As stated by Miuccia Prada, President and Director of Fondazione Prada, “The new collaboration with Riccardo Muti and his Academy confirms the Fondazione’s commitment to education and our intention to actively involve young people in our initiatives. For us, it is important to contribute to this education project that the Maestro has been pursuing with dedication and passion for many years, aiming to promote the knowledge and study of classical music. Indeed, we believe that this language remains one of the most relevant expressions for everyone’s cultural and personal growth even today.”
As shared by Riccardo Muti, “Together with Verdi, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is undoubtedly the author to whom I have dedicated most of my study and interpretative research. Encountering his art is a staggering experience for any interpreter. His works reflect our feelings and, above all, our imperfections—but without making us feel judged. Mozart portrays humanity in music exactly as it is. He tells us who we are but never asks why. And, as Rossini said, Mozart can become a comforter of life: his works talk to us, strike us profoundly, and comfort us.”
Considered one of Mozart’s and the entire 18th century masterpieces, Don Giovanni was composed in 1787 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Salzburg, 1756 – Vienna, 1791) to a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte (Vittorio Veneto, 1749 – New York, 1838). It debuted at the Estates Theater in Prague on October 29, 1787, conducted by Mozart himself, and gained a considerable success. Part of the Da Ponte’s trilogy together with Le nozze di Figaro (1786) and Così fan tutte (1790), Don Giovanni is described as a “playful drama” for music. It stages the events of a noble libertine who defies divine and human laws until he reaches the moment of the inevitable fall, symbolized by his descent into hell. Mozart’s great topicality emerges in this opera, which addresses moral and social themes while keeping an impartial stance, leaving the audience free to form their own judgment.
Riccardo Muti Music (RMMUSIC) conceived and created “Riccardo Muti Italian Opera Academy” in 2015, organizing various editions in Italy and abroad. In Japan, the project was first presented in 2019 by the Italian Opera Academy’s General Director, Domenico Muti, in collaboration with the Spring Festival in Tokyo. The first edition in China was held in 2024 in Suzhou, in collaboration with Vancy Culture Beijing. Fondazione Prada started its collaboration with the “Riccardo Muti Italian Opera Academy” in December 2021 by hosting in its Milan venue Giuseppe Verdi’s Nabucco and, in 2023, Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma.
On the occasion of the “Riccardo Muti Italian Opera Academy” 2025 edition, PwC Italia renews its collaboration with Fondazione Prada, started in 2023, to contribute to offering a cultural experience that generates enthusiasm and curiosity, especially for younger generations. As part of this initiative, PwC Young Program is an educational project dedicated to high schools and university in the Lombardy region, with a particular focus on conservatories and music schools. Its intention is to encourage the students’ active participation by inviting them to attend rehearsal by Riccardo Muti at a reduced price, in order to introduce them to classical music, particularly Italian opera, through the Maestro’s live teachings. PwC Italia joins Fondazione Prada to support an intense educational program that reaffirms the role of culture as a key element in the development of rising generations.
