Nominate us!

News / 13.8.2026 / Il pomo d'oro

Support us with your vote!

The nomination phase for the International Opera Awards 2026 runs until 24 August – and we would be delighted if you supported the Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik and our anniversary production of 'Il pomo d'oro' with your vote.

Because we believe standing ovations speak for themselves. What was, for us, an extraordinary and challenging project over many months has now finally found its audience – and your enthusiasm touches and delights us enormously.

If you share that enthusiasm, we would be thrilled to receive your nomination at the International Opera Awards. Every vote counts.

How it works

Until 24 August, anyone can submit nominations for the International Opera Awards via this link: Nominate | Opera Awards.

Not all fields need to be filled in – a personal selection is enough.

We would be absolutely delighted if you nominated us, our opera and our artists:

Rediscovered Work: Title: Il pomo d'oro / Company: Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik
Festival: Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik
Conductor: Ottavio Dantone
Director: Fabio Ceresa
Designer: Nikolaus Webern (set design) or Giuseppe Palella (costumes)
Male singer / Female singer / Rising star: your personal favourites from the production!

*The International Opera Awards website is currently experiencing a display issue, but your nomination will still go through once you click 'Submit' at the bottom. Should you be redirected back to the page, the rule of thumb is: better safe than sorry – submit again!

Click here to go to the International Opera Awards website

Rediscovered Work

'Il pomo d'oro' by Pietro Antonio Cesti was long considered unstageable – too sprawling, too opulent, too vast for the conventions of its time. 47 roles, more than 60 scenes and over 20 sets defy every ordinary framework, even today. Now this extraordinary work has returned to the stage. If not 'Il pomo d'oro' – then which opera?

Festival

For 50 years, the Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik have been a place where musical treasures are not merely preserved, but rediscovered and brought vividly back to life. Only here can operas like 'Il pomo d'oro', silent for centuries, rise again in a production of this scale. Yet the Festwochen bring early music not only to the grand stages, but also out onto streets and squares – across the threshold, right into the heart of everyday life.

Conductor

For the anniversary production marking the Festwochen's 50th year, Ottavio Dantone reconstructed two acts of Pietro Antonio Cesti's 'Il pomo d'oro' long believed lost. As one of the most profound experts on Cesti's music, he believed in the project and brought together a vast array of artists: 20 singers, the Accademia Bizantina and a chorus. Without his knowledge and musical imagination, 'Il pomo d'oro' would not have been possible

Director

Fabio Ceresa has brought 'Il pomo d'oro' to the stage as a grand spectacle, weaving singers, dancers and chorus into an overwhelming whole. With palpable passion and inexhaustible visual imagination, he has created a kaleidoscope of scenes, colours and poetic moments. A sequence of images that takes the audience by the hand and leads them straight into a world where art seems to know no bounds.

Designer

Nikolaus Webern created the spaces in which gods and mortals wept in beds, careened through the air in baskets, and flung towels about in the bathroom. He set the Milky Way aglow, turned rain into glitter, and furnished the supervillains' headquarters. Every detail tells its own story: from Filaura's iron to the colours of the underworld. In this way, the stage became an entire world in which anything seemed possible

Designer

Giuseppe Palella designed no fewer than 260 costume pieces for 'Il pomo d'oro' – from shoes and wigs to the Furies' handbags and Amore's wings. Opulent splendour of colour met sleek Italian suits, glitter met the finest detail. Every costume tells the story of the character who wears it, turning the stage into a feast for the eyes.
He made sure no one went unclothed – except perhaps Filaura.