2–24 August

Although hostilities continued to mount and the German army invaded the Soviet Union, the Festival returned to its regular programme. The 150th anniversary of Mozart’s death was honoured with productions of three of his operas. Admittedly little remained of the Festival’s former glory and international stature: the audiences consisted mainly of soldiers, whether on leave or recovering from wounds, and workers from German and Italian munitions factories. The Festival functioned as a sort of psychological weapon of domestic warfare and manipulation: as catastrophe loomed ever larger on the horizon, the people’s morale had to be shored up and their worries dispelled. One important administrative appointment was made on 13 September as Clemens Krauss was named the Festival’s artistic director.

1941: Hans Knappertsbusch, conductor of Der Rosenkavalier, in conversation with Hermann Wiedemann (Faninal).

New production
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Die Zauberflöte
C: Karl Böhm
D: Heinz Arnold
Ds/Cs: Ludwig Sievert
Festspielhaus

New production
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Le nozze di Figaro
C: Karl Böhm
D: Rudolf Zindler
Ds: Alfred Roller
Festspielhaus

Revivals: Much Ado About Nothing, Don Giovanni, Der Rosenkavalier

3 ballet performances, 5 orchestral concerts, 9 serenades, 1 concert of sacred music

Details of the several years:

1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944,