Jean-Michel Jarre, Patti Smith, and Ludovico Einaudi: the stars of the international concerts lighting up St. Mark’s Square in July
In July 2025, St. Mark’s Square will host five music and entertainment events: electronic music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre, the signature rock of Patti Smith, the new orchestral album The Summer Portraits by Ludovico Einaudi, the Cavalleria Rusticana by Teatro La Fenice, and the musical Casanova Opera Pop by Red Canzian.
Jean-Michel Jarre in concert
Thursday, July 3, 9 PM
Jean-Michel Jarre opens the summer calendar in St. Mark’s Square with one of the two Italian concerts of his new tour (the other will be in Pompeii on July 5).
A musician and sound experimenter, also present at the 2025 Architecture Biennale with the installation Oxyville, Jarre brings his Oxyville research to the stage in St. Mark’s Square: an immersive listening experience designed for the acoustic morphology of the square, featuring sound spatialization systems, visual elements, and artificial intelligence.
The event is promoted by Veneto Jazz with Influxus, Eventi Verona, Concerto Music, the City of Venice, and Vela Spa, as part of the 17th edition of the Venezia Jazz Festival.
In the installation Oxyville, created for Carlo Ratti’s Architecture Biennale with Maria Grazia Mattei (MEET) and Antoine Picon, Jarre investigates the relationship between three-dimensional sound and architectural space, drawing inspiration from Luigi Russolo’s futurist manifesto The Art of Noises and the works of Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry. The work at the Arsenale welcomes the public into an immersive environment where sound constructs mental landscapes and stimulates the perception of space through listening.
Tickets are on sale at Ticketmaster and Ticketone.
Casanova Opera Pop
Saturday, July 5, 9 PM
Red Canzian, bassist and vocalist of Pooh, wrote and produced the musical Casanova Opera Pop, performed in St. Mark’s Square with 23 performers, including singers, actors, and acrobatic dancers. The show is set in eighteenth-century Venice and tells of Giacomo Casanova’s return from exile, played by Gian Marco Schiaretti. Silvia Scartozzoni is Francesca Erizzo, the central female figure, while Gipeto and Manuela Zanier portray the antagonists.
Directed by Emanuele Gamba, with choreography by Roberto Carrozzino and Martina Nadalini. The costumes (120 in total) and digital sets are based on footage of the city filmed during the 2020 lockdown, reworked to recreate historical settings.
The production is supported by the Ministry of Culture and the City of Venice. After an Italian tour attended by over 100,000 spectators and a premiere in China, it arrives for the first time in St. Mark’s Square.
Tickets available on Ticketone and Vivaticket.
Patti Smith – Rock and Poetry
Monday, July 7, 9 PM
Patti Smith chooses St. Mark’s Square for her only summer date in Italy. The American artist will perform the repertoire that has marked the history of rock, from Horses to Dream of Life, including Easter with the famous Because the Night.
A poet, musician, and photographer, Patti Smith was also the muse of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, to whom an ongoing exhibition is dedicated (until January 6, 2026) at Le Stanze della Fotografia on the Island of San Giorgio. The concert is part of the 12th edition of the Festival della Bellezza, which in 2025 has “Wonder” as its theme and is produced in collaboration with Zen Production, the City of Venice, Vela Spa, and the Fondazione Teatro La Fenice.
Tickets available on Ticketone and Boxol.
Teatro La Fenice – Cavalleria Rusticana
Saturday, July 12, 9 PM
Teatro La Fenice presents Cavalleria Rusticana in St. Mark’s Square, a one-act melodrama by Pietro Mascagni based on the novella by Giovanni Verga. The Orchestra and Choir of the Venetian theater, conducted by Rico Saccani, will perform the opera in concert form.
Cast: Oksana Dyka (Santuzza), Mikheil Sheshaberidze (Turiddu), Franco Vassallo (Alfio), Valeria Girardello (Lola), Annunziata Vestri (Lucia). Chorus Master: Alfonso Caiani.
The concert is part of the Fondazione Teatro La Fenice’s summer season. It will be broadcast on delay on Rai3 on July 16 and on Rai5 on July 24.
Tickets with discounts for theater subscribers and Venice residents.
Ludovico Einaudi – The Summer Portraits
Sunday, July 13, 9 PM
Ludovico Einaudi closes the summer concert program in St. Mark’s Square with The Summer Portraits, an orchestral project that gives shape to personal memories related to summer, light, and the suspended time of holidays. The new album marks a return to classical timbres and more intimate atmospheres.
On stage with Einaudi: Federico Mecozzi (violin), Redi Hasa (cello), Francesco Arcuri (percussion), Alberto Fabris (bass), Gianluca Mancini (keyboards), Rocco Nigro (accordion), and the Rimini Classica String Ensemble.
The concert is a co-production of Ponderosa Music & Arts, Zen Production, and Vela Spa, in collaboration with the City of Venice and Teatro La Fenice.
Tickets on sale at TicketOne and Ticketmaster.
Article by Lucia Pecoraro.
The portrait of Red Canzian is by Jarno Iotti; Patti Smith is by Rossana Viola. Other images have been provided by their respective press offices.
