28 February 2026
	Madrid, Spain
	Escuela Superior de Canto di Madrid (ESCM)

“I Florio di Sicilia” conquers Madrid: Digital Opera lands in Spain

Following its success in Trapani, the opera merging AI and robotics arrives at the Escuela Superior de Canto on Saturday, February 28th. An international debut marking the technological innovation of Music4D.

PALERMO/MADRID – A name that represents the very essence of an era, an economic and cultural empire that once projected Sicily onto the world stage, now meets the technological avant-garde. Following its triumphant premiere in Trapani, the virtual opera “I Florio di Sicilia” is ready for its international debut. On Saturday, February 28th, at 6:00 PM, the project will arrive in Madrid for a special performance at the Escuela Superior de Canto de Madrid (ESCM).

The initiative is a central milestone of Music4D, the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) project led by the “Alessandro Scarlatti” Conservatory of Palermo, which unites the Conservatories of Sicily and Sardinia. Music4D serves as an innovation ecosystem, integrating the artistic memory of Southern Italy with technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, spatial computing, and robotics to create new global performative languages.

The choice of subject is far from accidental: to tell the story of the Florios is to recount the epic of the “Lions of Sicily” – a dynasty that rose from the spice trade to build a global empire of shipping, Marsala wine, and tuna fisheries, transforming Palermo and Sicily into the premier salotto of Europe’s Belle Époque. Bringing their story to Madrid honors the historical bond that has always linked Spain to the island, celebrating a family that was at once deeply Sicilian and extraordinarily international.

The opera, conceived by the “Antonio Scontrino” Conservatory of Trapani under the artistic direction of Micaela Carosi and featuring original music by Salvatore Scinaldi, features a libretto written with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence and immersive scenery generated from sounds sampled at ancient Sicilian tuna fisheries. On stage, the robot Pepper – in collaboration with the University of Palermo – will analyze the audience’s emotions in real time. Completing this phygital scenario, a choir and a musical trio will perform remotely from Trapani in perfect synchronicity with the artists on stage, utilizing the high-performance network established by the Music4D hub.

“Bringing the Florios to Madrid consecrates a model in which cultural heritage is enhanced through digital technology,” states Prof. Elisa Cordova, Director of the Trapani Conservatory. The Madrid appointment thus marks a necessary evolution: the story of the Florios transcends the boundaries of myth to become a vanguard language. Thanks to the direction of Micaela Carosi and the music of Salvatore Scinaldi, opera rediscovers a universal vocation, inhabiting a creative space where historical legacy and artificial intelligence converge in an unrepeatable performance.