It is George Enescu’s only opera: the Romanian composer struggled for years with the greatest of all tragedies, the myth of Oedipus, who kills his father and marries his mother because the gods have predestined it so. The new Bregenz production of the work is directed by the internationally renowned director Andreas Kriegenburg, who, together with set designer Harald B. Thor and costume designer Tanja Hofmann, dedicates each of the four independently narrated acts to an element: fire, water, air and earth, combined with archaic materials such as wood, clay and simple fabric, but also bare skin. Finnish star conductor Hannu Lintu, who will be appearing at the Bregenz Festival for the first time, will conduct the music. “Gorgeous, stately, incandescent” (Los Angeles Times)
Cagliostro – Johann Strauss in the Circus Tent
Combining pop, musical theatre and circus spectacle, author Thomas Brezina and composer Johnny Bertl have created a new musical performance based on motifs from Strauss’ operetta Cagliostro in Vienna. In the big top of the famous circus Roncalli, daring acrobatic acts meet famous Strauss melodies to tell the story of the magician and con man Caglistro. A unique experience for the whole family that “succeeds in transferring the entertainment value of a Strauss operetta to the present day” (Salzburger Nachrichten). “When circus and operetta come together, a new piece of Viennese cultural history is the result” (Kurier)
Salzburg Festival 2025: The Raft of the Medusa
Henze’s Das Floß der Medusa is one of the most significant political works of 20th-century music. Inspired by Géricault’s painting, it recounts the true story of the 1816 shipwreck of the French frigate Méduse, in which 154 people were abandoned on a raft while those in power saved themselves. Since its premiere, it has stood as a powerful symbol of artistic resistance and remains strikingly relevant today. Henze’s haunting music, which gives voice to the victims of the shipwreck, is performed in Salzburg to perfection: “The ORF RSO Vienna and the choirs perform the piece brilliantly, as does the solo trio, through all the extremes of expression, which, after a sombre woodwind elegy, reach their climax in the finale. Pure horror takes orchestral form” (Der Standard). “Outstanding choirs” (Salzburger Nachrichten)
Salzburg Festival 2025: Giulio Cesare in Egitto
Handel’s gripping Baroque opera comes to life as a high-stakes drama of power, passion and intrigue. Dmitri Tcherniakov’s “powerful” (Kurier) production sets political rivalry against a fiery love story in the confines of an underground bunker. Christophe Dumaux is a thrilling Cesare, “with his mercurial countertenor and pointed acting” (Der Standard). At his side, Olga Kulchynska gives her Salzburg debut as a “lyrical” Cleopatra: “Bright high notes, precise filigree technique, youthful freshness: she has it all” (Salzburger Nachrichten). The rest of the cast is equally “superb” (Der Standard), above all Lucile Richardot as Cornelia “with her smouldering mezzo” (BR Klassik) and Federico Fiorio as her son Sesto. Baroque specialist Emmanuelle Haïm conducts her orchestra Le Concert d’Astrée from the harpsichord, “completely in her element” (Salzburger
Nachrichten). A scenic and musical collaboration full of intensity, imagination and electrifying theatre.
Salzburg Festival 2025: Maria Stuarda
At the Salzburg Festival, director Ulrich Rasche shapes Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda into “a Sisyphean image and a powerful metaphor for the mechanics of power in which everyone here is trapped” (NZZ), by moving the action onto enormous discs, “with people who must relentlessly march towards their fate on them” (Kurier). This striking interpretation is perfectly completed by the outstanding performances of the two women at the centre of the story. “Kate Lindsey (Elisabetta) was able to clothe the character’s brokenness, her remorse and indignation, in a flowing song, with an almost theatrical clarity of articulation, on the one hand, and a passionate, full-bodied sound on the other” (WDR). Lisette Oropesa, as her opponent Maria Stuarda, “stands opposite her in gleaming white, but her voice sounds wonderfully warm and full-bodied. She has a
sure command of the high notes and coloratura. But even more impressive than her acrobatics is her expressiveness: when she loves and suffers, she is completely herself, and we are completely with her” (BR).
Im Weissen Rössl
Ralph Benatzky’s cult classic operetta The White Horse Inn, a romantic comedy set in the picturesque Salzkammergut in Austria, has enjoyed great success around the world, with countless productions on Broadway, in the West End, Paris and Berlin. At the Vienna Volksoper, Jan Philipp Gloger stages the work as a witty criticism against modern mass tourism while preserving the charm of the work, which lovingly pokes fun at German and Austrian sensibilities: “Gloger finds (…) a contemporary exuberance that makes fun of all kinds of things that deserve it” (Kurier). Annette Dasch “sparkles both vocally and comedically” (Kronenzeitung) as the snappy innkeeper of the ‘Rössl’ opposite Jakob Semotan, who sings her head waiter with “bright and balmy” tones (Der Standard). The rest of the ensemble is engaging and funny throughout, including actor Götz Schubert as the Berlin manufacturer Giesecke and beloved German entertainer Harald Schmidt, who delights the Viennese audience with his Swabian dialect as eco-tourist Prof. Dr. Hinzelmann – a great success!
Salzburg Festival 2024: Jedermann
There is no Salzburg Festival without Jedermann. Ever since its first performance at the festival in 1920, the morality play by Austrian playwright and festival co-founder Hugo von Hofmannsthal has been a permanent fixture of the Salzburg Festival every summer. Looking back at this storied legacy, staging Jedermann in Salzburg
is no easy feat. In this production, Canadian director Robert Carsen takes on the challenge by focusing first and foremost on the essentials of the work: “Robert Carsen has stripped away all the scaffolding to let the text speak for itself. A conservative production in the best sense of the word” (FAZ). The chance to portray Jedermann on the cathedral square stage is an honour – Philipp Hochmair, already successful with his touring one man show “Jedermann Reloaded” is “convincing” (NYT) in the role and “radiates extraordinary intensity with his striking language” (Die Presse).
Salzburg Festival 2024: The Gambler
Based on a short novel by Dostoyevsky, Prokofiev’s The Gambler unfolds in the fictional casino town of Roulettenburg, where a variety of characters converge and clash. These characters include a General indebted to a covetous Marquis, the General’s resentful stepdaughter Polina, and Alexey, who harbors feelings for her. Director Peter Sellars, known for his insightful interpretations of overlooked masterpieces, challenges us to mirror the bravery of Dostoyevsky and Prokofiev – the courage to confront our inner darkness. The musical direction of Russian conductor Timur Zangiev shines together with the vocal performances of the exceptional cast:”Asmik Grigorian portraying a passionate Polina, and Sean Panikkar delivering a powerful performance as Alexei” (Financial Times).
Salzburg Festival 2024: Nelsons conducts Mahler 9
Andris Nelsons returns to the Salzburg Festival with the Vienna Philharmonic, conducting Mahler’s epic Symphony No. 9. This giant on the podium animates the Vienna Philharmonic to the highest level of sound culture. His interpretation of Mahler is of passionate intensity, without ever falling into hollow pathos or sentimental attitude. The Vienna Philharmonic playes to all its strengths, and they are audibly at home in Mahler’s world.
Salzburg Festival 2024: Les Contes d’Hoffmann
Offenbach goes Hollywood: Mariame Clément’s production of Les Contes d’Hoffmann transforms ist titular character into a storyteller of a different kind. The different acts, which are based on short stories by E.T.A. Hoffmann, take the audience on a journey through the world of cinema, from a 70s sci-fi flick over a costume drama to a feverish experimental sequence. The three love interests Olympia, Antonia and Giulietta are portrayed by American soprano Kathryn Lewek, who “impresses with brilliantly assertive coloratura, melting cantilenas and pulsating drama” (Drehpunktkultur). At the centre of this tragic tale of unrequited love is Hoffmann himself, stepping into the role of a script writer and film director in this production. The incredibly charismatic Benjamin Bernheim “splendidly cele brates the invasive tragedy of his character. Sound, expression and
presence could not be better combined” (Der Standard). Kate Lindsey, who portrays the muse disguised as Hoffmann’s friend Niklausse is a joy to watch and listen to as she “absorbs Clément’s energy of ideas and gilds her vocal tour de force with scenic exuberance” (Der Standard). An opera evening that spans the emotional spectrum from hilarious comedy to deeply felt heartbreak.