Kato Amiantos, Cyprus. Pianist Manolis Neophytou’s Summer Music Festival 2026 will bring 12 concerts to the Forest Theatre in the foothills of the Troodos mountains from July to September.
The festival, held in the garden of Neophytou’s mountain home, will feature classical music, jazz, opera, film music, fairy tales and performances by established and emerging musicians.
Festival origins
Neophytou launched the event in 2022 with one or two concerts after being inspired by the natural setting around his home.
“It all started in 2022 with just one or two concerts,” he said. “The idea came to me because the house is buried in the forest, it’s beautiful there, and I believe music was born from nature.”
He said the sounds of wind moving through leaves and birdsong prompted him to imagine performances held in the forest.
Forest Theatre setting
The area behind Neophytou’s holiday home was transformed into an intimate venue with capacity for 90 guests. Concerts are designed to fit within the landscape without reshaping it.
The festival does not use sound systems, allowing audiences to hear acoustic instruments and vocals alongside the natural sounds of the forest. Guests sit in a semi-circle around performers, surrounded by pine trees and fairy lights.
“The simplicity is intentional,” Neophytou said. “There is no intense lighting, so the moon and the stars shine above. The forest sounds have space to exist, and this creates a different dimension than concerts in ordinary theatres.”
Practical arrangements
Neophytou said he considered the logistics of staging concerts in the forest when his house in Kato Amiantos was being built. The property was designed without steps to facilitate moving instruments, chairs and a piano.
He handles the piano tuning and moves the instrument with his son. “Practically, it is very difficult to bring a piano to the mountains, but it was my dream to host concerts and invite people, audiences and artists,” he said.
