The Abbiati Prize, considered the most authoritative award of Italian music criticism, now in its 44th edition, was awarded yesterday in Milan by the National Association of Music Critics, which chose the winners from among the productions, concerts and initiatives held in Italian theaters and concert halls during 2024. Winning the Abbiati Award for best costume designer of the year is Eva-Maria Van Acker, creator of the costumes for György Ligeti’s opera Le grand macabre, the new production at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo that opened its opera season last November with musical direction by Omer Meir Wellber and direction by Barbora Horáková. “This is an important recognition that rewards the skill and visionary nature of Eva-Maria Van Acker whose creativity has contributed to the success of an extraordinary contemporary opera such as Le grand macabre with which we wanted to inaugurate the season”, says Teatro Massimo’s Superintendent Marco Betta. ”Congratulations to Eva-Maria Van Acker on behalf of all of us and thanks to the National Association of Music Critics for the attention with which it follows the activities of the Teatro Massimo.