12 July-14 Aug 2004. The 40th edition of this festival has a new outlook under the artistic direction of Katia Ricciarelli. The programme reflects her wish to veer away from crowd-pleasing old favourites to lesser-known works. Thus, this year the calendar offers Les contes dHoffmann by Offenbach (17 July-8 Aug), Francesca da Rimini by Zandonai (24 July-13 Aug), and Simon Boccanegra by Verdi (31 July-14 Aug). Ricciarelli recognises the strong visual potential of the amazing oval-shaped arena and has called on great stage directors such as Pier Luigi Pizzi to give life to the productions.