July 26 – August 31

A new venue was created as Mozart’s Così fan tutte became the first opera to be mounted in the intimate surroundings of the Salzburg Residence. A novelty of a different type was the “Don Giovanni City” that Clemens Holzmeister, on the model of his earlier “Faust City’, built in the Felsenreitschule for Herbert Graf’s new staging of that opera. The production reached a broader audience in a filmed version by Paul Czinner and drew highest praise for its musical attainments, especially from Cesare Siepi in the title role and Wilhelm Furtwängler at the conductor’s rostrum. The Ballet du Théâtre National de l'Opéra de Paris presented choreographies by Serge Lifar and George Balanchine, some with décor by Jean Cocteau, that formed the beginning of a long-term emphasis on the ballet. Finally, the programme contained the world première of an opera, Gottfried von Einem’s setting of Kafka’s The Trial. The choice was not accidental: it was meant to rehabilitate von Einem following the turmoil of the Brecht Affair and his expulsion from the board of directors.

1953: Composer Gottfried von Einem at a rehearsal for the premiére of Der Prozess ("The Trial"), with, from left to right, Max Lorenz (Josef K.), Karl Böhm (conductor) and Oscar Fritz Schuh (director).

New production
William Shakespeare
Julius Caesar
D: Josef Gielen
Ds/Cs: Caspar Neher
Felsenreitschule

New production
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Don Giovanni
C: Wilhelm Furtwängler
D: Herbert Graf
Ds: Clemens Holzmeister
Felsenreitschule

New production
Richard Strauss
Der Rosenkavalier
C: Clemens Krauss, Karl Böhm
D: Josef Gielen
Ds/Cs: Alfred Roller
Festspielhaus

New production
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Così fan tutte
C: Karl Böhm
D: Oscar Fritz Schuh
Ds/Cs: Caspar Neher
Residence

New production
Gottfried von Einem
Der Prozess (“The Trial’)
C: Karl Böhm
D: Oscar Fritz Schuh
Ds/Cs: Caspar Neher
Festspielhaus

Revivals: Jedermann, Le nozze di Figaro

2 ballet performances, 8 orchestral concerts, 6 chamber concerts, 6 serenades, 4 matinées, 2 solo recitals, 1 church concert, 7 concerts of sacred music, Memorial ceremony for Max Reinhardt

Details of the several years:

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