From 2017 the OPERA OPEN festival mounted a strong array of shows at the Ancient Theatre, presenting premieres, co-productions, and hybrid-genre projects. Opera Open welcomed, on the stage of the Ancient Theatre in Plovdiv, leading soloists of the largest opera and ballet companies.

The Matera-Basilicata 2019 Foundation commissioned some independent evaluation studies related to the actions to monitor and evaluate the programme and results of Matera European Capital of Culture 2019.

For every euro spent by a cultural tourist in Matera, 1.85 were activated (+ 185%), for every euro invested directly in cultural productions there was a return of 2 € (+ 200%); against an investment in the supply chain most closely linked to cultural production (51% of the resources invested), other economic sectors (49% of the resources) have been stimulated and introduced into the process of creating cultural value.

A new platform dedicated to updating the world on current affairs within the cultural and creative industries is going live as part of the EU Erasmus + "DeuS" project, based on the Open Design School method, the participatory and multidisciplinary open design laboratory of Matera European Capital of Culture 2019.

April 1 to 4, 2021: worldwide release (online) of 'The New Gospel', tickets (8 euros) at www.ntgent.be, subtitles in Dutch, French, Italian and English.