From 21 to 24 August 2025, Opera Festival returns to the lava landscapes of Mount Etna, one of the most persuasive gatherings in Italy for electronic music and multimedia experimentation. The fifth edition, titled Sciara (a Sicilian word used to describe the terrains born from solidified lava flows), marks five years of Opera with a concept rooted in both heritage and transformation, tradition and avant-garde.

Spread across the town of Milo in Catania, the festival comes alive through live acts, DJ sets, talks, installations, and performances.

At COEVAL we had the chance to attend this edition that brought together music, art, nature, and the culture of wine in a place far from the metropolis, yet deeply connected to it through the balance of these elements. The experience felt unique, as if we were at home, welcomed by the genuine warmth of the people who guided us through this journey.

The lineup was exceptional, featuring Batu, Kosh, Bambi, Polygonia, Claudio PRC, Ciel, OCB, Daura, Cheval, La Bek, Silvae, DJ MARIA, and many others.

We also had the pleasure of speaking with Mara Russo from Opera Festival about the evolution of independent magazines and editorial projects into print, and the ongoing relationship between digital archives and physical editions.

One of the most unforgettable moments was the Etna Morning. At sunrise, surrounded by vineyards in Milo and facing the erupting volcano, Matteo Nasini performed live music directly influenced by Etna’s seismic data. The sound carried the force of the landscape itself, entering into dialogue with both the mountain and an audience that listened in rare stillness. The whole music was decodified by information gave from the volcano of the seismic movements recorded by Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia.

Following is the talk on the Etna Morning experience and this new edition of the festival, featuring Andrea Cavallaro, founder of Opera Festival, Matteo Nasini, Roberta Castorina, and Alessandro Bonforte from INGV.

“In all cultures and religions, that when you give life, something is born, the lightning, the breath, the sound of a bell, the cry, the pneumo, as they used to say, the primordial breath before it becomes a word, the locus, and this element here, in my opinion, is central.  ”

— Matteo Nasini, Contemporary Artist

Andrea Cavallaro:

We aim to spark innovation even in places often considered marginal, because they can create opportunities for young people, new jobs, and local growth. This morning, with Matteo, we presented Etna Sonica as part of the special project we call Etna Morning. The project has been running for five years, plus one, since the first edition during Covid had to be pre-recorded and shared online.

This year felt different because we finally realized an idea I had carried for years. It began almost by chance when I started organizing the festival. While looking for partners I came across Open Fiber, the company that installed fiber optics across Italian cities. I discovered they were also developing mathematical models to predict telematics through fiber optic signals, something I had explored at Gran Sasso. I thought it would be interesting to apply similar methods here with Etna. At first I proposed collecting fiber-optic data, but the company considered it too ambitious, so the project stalled. Eventually we met Matteo, whose vision brought it forward. The key element was the data, which Alessandro helped provide and interpret.

For me, as someone born and raised here, giving voice to the volcano felt deeply personal. Etna has always been part of my life. To hear it transformed into sound this morning was emotional, and I thank Matteo for this. Now I would like to pass the floor to him.

“The highest level of love, of expression of love towards something, to know it, to study it, the best way to know this volcano to the maximum is to analyze it beyond our senses, we go beyond sight, beyond hearing, and so we listen to the infrasound.”

— Scientist of INGV

Matteo Nasini:

This morning at dawn was intense and unforgettable. I am an artist with a background in classical music who now works mainly in contemporary art and sound. Over time I have come to see technology as a tool for expression. It lets us shift perspective and experience reality differently.

For this project I received data from Alessandro, which I translated into numbers, then into notes, automations, algorithms, and functions, eventually turning them into sound. The process is not simply pressing a button. What matters is intention. Why translate seismic signals into music? Why gather at five in the morning in the cold to listen? For me the answer lies in a belief expressed by musicologist Marius Schneider, who said every act of creation begins with sound: the cry, the breath, the bell, the voice.

Many artists have transformed natural phenomena into sound, but today the challenge is not only technical. It is also about meaning. In this performance I worked with extreme data, waveforms that felt almost absolute, and I had to find ways to create dynamics, contrast, and variation. That is what gave the music its depth.

“For me the volcano, like music, represents mystery.”

— Roberta Castorina

Alessandro Bonforte, INGV:

Thank you for involving me in something different from our daily work. Normally we analyze data for science, but here I could appreciate it in an emotional way. Those of us who study the volcano do it out of love. The mountain is a laboratory of creation. People often see only destruction, but lava fields eventually bring life. Listening beyond our senses, through infrasound, vibrations, and infrared, lets us perceive the volcano more fully. Sharing this data with Matteo allowed the mountain to be heard in another way.

Andrea Cavallaro:

Nature remains at the center of Opera Festival. In our documentary Genesi we decided not to focus only on performances but to tell the story of Milo, its traditions, its people, and its bond with the volcano and the land. The message is respect for nature and awareness that we are part of it.

“
We decided to focus on the territory, of the most vivid aspects of Milo, of the traditions that for decades have been carried forward by wood, by the volcano, by the vine, by the grape, by the work of man, this close connection. ”

— Andrea Cavallaro, founder of Opera Festival

Francesca Castorina:

It was powerful to see such different perspectives together. For me the volcano, like music, represents mystery. Facing a mystery without immediate answers is vital, especially today. This morning’s performance reminded us of that.

Matteo Nasini:

When I compose this kind of work, I try to imagine how it will feel to listen in that place and moment, with the volcano present. The volcano does not think of us, but it produces sound in its own way. It is an archetype of creation, a reminder of origins.

Alessandro Bonforte, INGV:

Years ago I noticed that each crater produces its own tone, almost like a choir. The volcano sings with many voices. Hearing that translated into art has been a beautiful experience.