Rossini Opera Festival

The Rossini Opera Festival is an international music festival held in August of each year in Pesaro, Italy, the birthplace of the opera composer Gioachino Rossini. It is often simply referred to as the Pesaro Festival. Performances are given in the 850-seat theatre built in 1818, the Teatro Rossini, Pesaro and, since 1988, the modified "Palasport" sports arena which holds 1,500. Since 2000 another venue, the Teatro Sperimentale (Experimental Theatre), has offered the opportunity to present smaller-scale or minor works by contemporaries of Rossini