About the Phnom Penh International Opera Festival

The Phnom Penh International Opera Festival brings world-class opera to Cambodia. We create inspiring performances, support cultural exchange, and give audiences a new way to experience music and storytelling.

Our goal is to make opera accessible, exciting,
and memorable for everyone.

Our Values

  • Imagine it.

    Where Cambodia meets the world.

    Every great festival begins with vision.

    The Phnom Penh International Opera Festival reimagines what world-class performance can look like in Cambodia - blending Khmer heritage with global artistry, and positioning Phnom Penh as a rising cultural capital in Southeast Asia.

    Through long-term partnerships, artistic ambition, and a commitment to cultural diplomacy, the festival sets the stage for a new era of performance in the Kingdom.

  • Create it.

    World-class productions, built in Phnom Penh.

    Behind each season is a collaborative engine of over 100 artists, musicians, and technicians from Cambodia and abroad.

    From staging Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the 2,000-seat NABA Theatre to developing major works through 2028, the festival produces opera at international standards while supporting local talent, orchestras, and creative teams.

    This is where ideas become productions - ambitious, meticulous, and artistically daring.

  • Sustain it.

    A cultural future designed to last.

    PPIOF is the world’s first opera festival to calculate and offset the entire carbon footprint of its performances.

    With electric-vehicle partnerships, sustainable logistics, and a multi-year commitment to green-accountability, the festival is redefining how major cultural events are produced in the region.

    Each edition contributes to Cambodia’s cultural soft power, community access, training programs, and long-term arts infrastructure.

FAQs

  • PPIOF grew out of the Cambodia Opera Project, initiated by Ai Iwasaki, a Japanese opera artist who was inspired by the warmth of the Khmer people and their well-known smile. This early project became a unique cultural collaboration supported strongly by partners in Japan and Italy. Japanese artists and orchestras contributed expertise and orchestral support, while the Italian Embassy and Italian cultural associations provided funding and artistic guidance. Several early productions (including Cavalleria Rusticana, Pagliacci, and Madama Butterfly) were developed with the participation of international creative teams, including renowned opera stage director Vincenzo Grisostomi Travaglini.

  • The festival aims to make world-class opera accessible in Cambodia, create long-term cultural exchange, and develop local artistic capacity. PPIOF brings together international performers, Cambodian artists, and emerging talent to produce high-quality productions while building a sustainable foundation for opera within the Kingdom.

  • PPIOF is designed as a multi-year development project. Planned initiatives include annual large-scale productions, collaborations with regional opera companies, expanded youth and artist-training programmes, and long-term commissioning of works inspired by Cambodian stories and culture. The long-term goal is to establish a recurring opera season in Phnom Penh and position the festival as a cultural landmark in Southeast Asia.

  • The festival continues the collaborative framework established by the Cambodia Opera Project. It works with Japanese orchestras and artistic teams, Italian cultural institutions, and Cambodian creative professionals. As PPIOF grows, it aims to increase opportunities for local singers, musicians, designers, and technical crews through workshops, masterclasses, and involvement in professional productions.