27 July – 30 August

Two deaths cast their shadow upon the Festival: Maria Cebotari, the celebrated Countess, Constanze, Zerlina and Euridice of the Festival’s recent years, died on 9 June at the age of 39; and on 8 September the world took leave of Richard Strauss, and with him the last of the Festival’s three co-founders. Bruno Walter returned to the Festival after a 12-year absence to perform Mozart’s “Great” G-minor Symphony and Mahler’s Lied von der Erde with Kathleen Ferrier and Julius Patzak. Another famous emigré, George Szell, made his first appearance at the Festival to conduct Der Rosenkavalier. Carl Orff’s Antigonae received its world première in the Felsenreitschule, an event that once again brought together the successful team of Fricsay, Schuh and Neher. From now on, it will not only be Mozart’s well-known operas that enliven the programmes but also, thanks to the tireless commitment of Bernhard Paumgartner, rarities from the Mozart repertoire. Paumgartner founded the Mozart matinées, in which many forgotten gems would later be unearthed.

Spoken theatre was dominated by the great Goethe bicentenary as new productions of Clavigo and Iphigenie auf Tauris were mounted to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the great poet’s birth.

1949: Günther Rennert, director of Fidelio, talking to “his” Leonore, Kirsten Flagstad.

New production
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Clavigo
D: Ernst Lothar
Ds: Stefan Hlawa
Cs: Eva Pohl
Landestheater

New production
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Iphigenie auf Tauris
D: Leopold Lindtberg
Ds/Cs: Teo Otto
Landestheater

New production
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Die Zauberflöte
C: Wilhelm Furtwängler
D: Oscar Fritz Schuh
Ds/Cs: Caspar Neher
Felsenreitschule

World première
Carl Orff
Antigonae
C: Ferenc Fricsay
D: Oscar Fritz Schuh
Ds/Cs: Caspar Neher
Felsenreitschule

New production
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
La clemenza di Tito
C: Josef Krips
D: Hans Curjel
Ds/Cs: Hans Erni
Landestheater

New production
Richard Strauss
Der Rosenkavalier
C: George Szell
D: Lothar Wallerstein
Ds/Cs: Alfred Roller
Festspielhaus

Revivals: Jedermann, Fidelio, Orfeo ed Euridice

9 orchestral concerts, 1 choral concert, 4 chamber concerts, 4 serenades, 2 matinées, 5 concerts of sacred music, Memorial service for Maria Cebotari

Details of the several years:

1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959,