Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

( 24 Dec 2013 ) We wish all friends and guests of the Salzburg Festival a blessed Christmas and a great start to the New Year 2014!

Don’t forget to take advantage of the fact that until January 8, all ticket orders received for the Summer Festival will be treated as equal. Why not take the time between Christmas and New Year’s to browse the programme and send your purchase requests to the Ticket Office – either online, via email to info@salzburgfestival.at or by mail to the Salzburg Festival Ticket Office, Herbert von Karajan Platz 11, P.O. Box 140, 5020 Salzburg, Austria.

World Premiere • Charlotte Salomon‘s Leben? oder Theater? Transformed into an Opera

( 12 Dec 2013 ) The Salzburg Festival looks forward to a very special world premiere as part of the coming season’s programme. Under the baton of composer Marc-André Dalbavie and directed by Luc Bondy, the life story and artistic oeuvre of Charlotte Salomon will become the basis of an opera. In her fascinating work Leben? oder Theater?, a unique combination of images, texts and musical quotations, the young Jewish artist tried to come to terms with the dramatic events of her life. This work inspired Dalbavie for his composition.

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The Salzburg Festival congratulates Hossam Mahmoud on winning the 2013 Grand Arts Prize of the State of Salzburg

( 19 Nov 2013 ) Hossam Mahmoud commissioned to write Seelenfäden for the 2014 Salzburg Festival

The Salzburg Festival is delighted that the 2013 Grand Arts Prize of the State of Salzburg has been awarded to Hossam Mahmoud. During the 2014 Festival summer, the Ouverture spirituelle and the series Salzburg contemporary will each feature one of the composer’s works. “This decision by the jury results in double encouragement for Hossam Mahmoud's creative work during difficult times: on the one hand, there is the 2014 programming of the Salzburg Festival, on the other, this important and generously endowed prize of the State of Salzburg,” Festival President Helga Rabl-Stadler emphasises.

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Historian Christopher Clark to give Keynote Address at the 2014 Festival Opening

( 12 Nov 2013 )   “Who would not want to come to Salzburg?” This was the Australian historian Christopher Clark’s answer to the invitation to give the keynote address at the Salzburg Festival on July 27, 2014. In his much-lauded new book The Sleepwalkers, the 53-year-old Cambridge professor describes how Europe went into World War I. 

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President Helga Rabl-Stadler About Art as Necessity

( 6 Nov 2013 ) ‘Every art needs two: one who makes it and one who needs it.’ Thus, Ernst Barlach – sculptor, draughtsman and author – described the existential relationship which also characterizes the Salzburg Festival’s essence. Max Reinhardt described this relationship differently, but no less vividly when he argued for the Festival’s founding in 1917. He spoke of art ‘not as a luxury for the rich and sated, but as food for the needy’. 

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The New Drama Programme 2014 – Presented by Sven-Eric Bechtolf

( 6 Nov 2013 ) Dear Audience,

We are delighted to present the 2014 theatre programme, which on this occasion is devoted almost entirely to a single subject: precisely one hundred years ago Europe threw itself into a war which is now regarded as the primary catastrophe of recent history. 

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Artistic Director Alexander Pereira about the Festival Programme 2014

( 6 Nov 2013 ) Dear, honoured Festival guests!

It is with great pleasure that I present our events of the 2014 Festival summer to you. As every year, we will try to give the most important artists of our time a home in Salzburg for six weeks – in a density that would be impossible to achieve anywhere in the world but in Salzburg. In my view, this is what the fascination of the artistic attraction of this Festival is all about. This summer, we present to you five opera premieres with hand-picked casts. 

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( 8 Oct 2013 ) In September 2013, the number of officially registered Syrian refugees rose to more than two million people, over half of them women and children. According to the UNHCR, 7,000 new refugees are registered every day. The onset of winter has become an endurance test: blankets, warm clothes, heaters and fuel are urgently needed.

In order to alleviate the suffering of Syria’s civilian population, the Salzburg Festival supports the Caritas Refugee Aid this year by donating 78,860 Euros.

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Markus Hinterhäuser appointed Artistic Director of the Salzburg Festival

( 25 Sep 2013 ) Starting on October 1, 2016, Markus Hinterhäuser will be the Salzburg Festival’s Artistic Director; his contract runs for five years, until September 30, 2021. The contract of Festival President Dr. Helga Rabl-Stadler has been extended for another three years (from October 1, 2014 to October 1, 2017). These decisions were made by the Salzburg Festival’s Supervisory Board today, Wednesday, September 25. Its meeting was chaired by Section Director Mag. Andrea Ecker of the Federal Ministry of Education, Art and Culture.

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A Loving Enabler of Modernity

( 19 Sep 2013 ) Hans Landesmann constructed an important space for the present – remembering a creative innovator.

Hans Landesmann and Salzburg: this constellation was “a stroke of fortune for both sides,” said Salzburg’s Festival President Helga Rabl-Stadler last year. At the time, she was delivering a speech on the occasion of the cultural manager’s 80^th birthday. On Wednesday evening, the Salzburg Festival had the sad duty to announce the passing of this long-term member of its Directorate: Hans Landesmann died of a severe illness at the age of 81.

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280 Performances in 45 Days at 14 Performance Venues

The 1400 children and teenagers of El Sistema from Venezuela caused a storm of enthusiasm. Another extraordinary success was the new production of Jedermann – only the eleventh since 1920. The Ouverture spirituelle brought an opening towards the Shinto and Buddhist world view. The concert performances of operas by Verdi and Wagner, the Mahler Symphonies and the oratorios by Joseph Haydn – to name only a few highlights of this summer, apart from the new scenic productions – found an echo that can be described numerically as follows: with 286,301 visitors, we registered the highest number of visitors since the founding of the Salzburg Festival 93 years ago.

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Siemens Festival Nights in London

( 30 Aug 2013 ) Siemens Festival Nights at the Crystal:In celebration of the first anniversary of the opening this September, the Crystal will host the first Siemens Festival Nights abroad, an outdoor opera festival taking place between 30^th August and 1^st September on the dockside area in front of the Crystal. Presenting brand new opera productions from the world renowned Salzburg Festival.

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The Vienna Philharmonic remains the heart of the Festival

( 30 Aug 2013 ) The Vienna Philharmonic has always been one of the main pillars of the Salzburg Festival. “Without the Vienna Philharmonic, there might be a festival in Salzburg, but it would not be the Salzburg Festival.” Clearer words than those of President Dr. Helga Rabl-Stadler in her interview with Die Presse can hardly be found to describe the role of the Vienna Philharmonic at the Festival.

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Artistic Program of the Festival Ball

( 27 Aug 2013 ) The countdown for the 2013 Festival Ball has begun! The stage sets at the Felsenreitschule have been dismantled, the two carpenter’s workshops Gehmacher and Niederreiter have begun their preparations with the Festival’s team of technicians, and together they are transforming the performance venue into an impressive ballroom. 

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Sumptuous Venues Await You at the Festival Ball on August 31, 2013

( 22 Aug 2013 ) At the 2nd Festival Ball on August 31, all the action will be focused on the Felsenreitschule and the Haus für Mozart. Thus, the Disco will be set up in the Festival Canteen, usually closed to the public, and the Swiss DJ Luca Papini will crank up the dance beats; refreshment is guaranteed by the exclusive creations offered at the Red Bull Bar.

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MONTBLANC YOUNG DIRECTORS AWARD 2013

( 21 Aug 2013 ) For the twelfth time already, the MONTBLANC & SALZBURG FESTIVAL YOUNG DIRECTORS PROJECT took place as part of the 2013 Salzburg Festival. Once again, the international cultural brand Montblanc generously supported the theatre project. Sales of the Salzburg special edition of the “Mozart Pen” brought additional sponsorship funds to the project, making it possible to fund the YDP programme, the magazine Close Up. Sven-Eric Bechtolf, Director of Drama, had selected four young directors from Great Britain, Germany, Iraq and the Czech Republic for this year’s competition.

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Hagen Quartet Presents Beethoven Cycle

( 17 Aug 2013 ) Yesterday, the Hagen Quartet gave the highly successful opening concert of its cycle Beethoven • Hagen Quartet at the Mozarteum Foundation’s Main Hall. Lukas Hagen, Rainer Schmidt, Veronika Hagen and Clemens Hagen will perform five further concerts at the Salzburg Festival, completing a full set of Ludwig van Beethoven’s string quartets. The art of chamber music at its very best!

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Pa pa pa pa ... Pause ...

( 16 Aug 2013 ) After seven performances in a row, we finally have a small break, and we have truly deserved it. The past two weeks were quite strenuous. Now that the Zauberflöte premiere is behind us, we can catch our breath again.

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Decoration and Design for the 2nd Salzburg Festival Ball

( 15 Aug 2013 ) At Kunstgärtnerei Doll in Salzburg’s Nonntal, Jürgen Doll and award-winning chef Andreas Döllerer joined Ball organiser Suzanne Harf in presenting the table decorations for the gala dinner of the 2^nd Salzburg Festival Ball, as well as the essential sources of inspiration for the design of the entire Ball area.

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New Management for Salzburg Festival Shop This Year

( 14 Aug 2013 ) For the first time, the Salzburg Festival Shop is being managed by Andreas Vogl this year. Together with his team, he looks forward to welcoming you at almost all the Festival performance venues with a broad range of selected CDs, DVDs and many Festival-specific products.

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Donald Kahn was a Godsend for Salzburg

( 11 Aug 2013 ) Donald Kahn, one of the most important patrons of Salzburg’s cultural life and especially of the Salzburg Festival, passed away yesterday, Saturday, in Salzburg, at the age of 88. “Salzburg remembers Donald Kahn with respect and gratitude; he was one of those people who have made an enormous contribution to Salzburg, of his own free will, out of love for the arts and culture, and for the City and State of Salzburg. People like Donald Kahn are important in order to offer the arts the optimal framework and conditions. Donald Kahn was a godsend for Salzburg. We offer our heartfelt condolences to his relatives in this painful hour,” Landeshauptmann Dr. Wilfried Haslauer commemorated the deceased today, Sunday, August 11. 

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Nestlé and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award 2013 The 2013 Winner: Ben Gernon

( 9 Aug 2013 ) Ben Gernon, the winner of the fourth annual round of the “Nestlé and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award 2013”, will conduct the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra at the Felsenreitschule on August 17th. 24-year-old Ben Gernon from Great Britain convinced the international jury chaired by Ingo Metzmacher at the Award Concert Weekend by conducting a concert with the Camerata Salzburg at the Felsenreitschule. “The three concerts had a very high level. The jury decided quickly and unambiguously for young Ben Gernon from Great Britain. His great musicality and his special connection to the orchestra convinced us,” said Jury Chairman Ingo Metzmacher.

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“Magic Flute” and all that...

( 6 Aug 2013 ) There we are! The premiere of Die Entführung aus dem Serail for Children is behind us and already seems far, far away. In the meantime, rehearsals for Die Zauberflöte for Children have begun. The premiere takes places next Thursday already, and it feels like we’ve only just started. It is a bit of a shame, because rehearsal periods are always a lot of fun and when you know that there is still a bit of time before things get serious, there is time for one or the other little beer after rehearsal. At the moment, however, we really have to marshal our resources, for this week will be turbulent.

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( 5 Aug 2013 ) Apart from the many artistic offerings, the Ball Tombola with more than 900 high-carat prizes is one of the highlights of the Salzburg Festival Ball at the Felsenreitschule on August 31, 2013.

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From one Alpine People to Another

( 2 Aug 2013 ) I am driving a car through the Salzburger Land, this exceptionally beautiful region. Without a plan, keeping eyes and mouth open, I meander through the Wiestal. At the reservoir I stop and jump into the refreshing, deep-turquoise water; then I continue towards Wolfgangsee, past Fuschlsee (which I really want to hike around one day). Again and again, I stop and have to look at the mountains. I am overcome with a great longing to climb every single one of them and to hike through the valleys. As soon as the rehearsals are over and we are only performing in the evenings, I will assault one hill or the other!

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“Pro Arte European Award” for Maestro Zubin Mehta

( 1 Aug 2013 )  On July 30, 2013, Maestro Zubin Mehta was presented with the “Pro Arte European Award” of the Herbert Batliner European Institute. The prize is awarded to persons and institutions for outstanding achievements in the creation, affirmation and teaching of Europe’s cultural identity.  

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Honouring KS Christa Ludwig

( 30 Jul 2013 ) Kammersängerin Christa Ludwig, who celebrated her 85^th birthday this past March, was honoured with the Ruby Festival Brooch today, Tuesday, July 30, at the office of Festival President Helga Rabl-Stadler, in the presence of a circle of Salzburg Festival artists, commemorating her many brilliant performances and her many years of faithful friendship. Other prominent recipients of this award have included Christian Stückl, Norbert Platt, Gerbert Schwaighofer, Jürgen Flimm and Riccardo Muti.

KS Ludwig is currently leading a master class for some participants of the Young Singers Project.

Our heartfelt congratulations!

“I have kissed Sir John Tomlinson.”

( 30 Jul 2013 ) “I have kissed Sir John Tomlinson. Many, many times. There, I’ve said it. And, believe me, it’s not something that I had anticipated in my career, even in my wildest student daydreaming days. In fact, this summer has seen a few other firsts for me. My first on-stage decapitation (even if I was a little over enthusiastic on the first night and managed to send the Green Knight’s head tumbling among the double basses), my first bout of cannibalism, both given and received, and finally my first time spending twenty five minutes under a blanket. All operatic milestones I simply could not have anticipated.”

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MONTBLANC & SALZBURG FESTIVAL YOUNG DIRECTORS PROJECT 2013

( 29 Jul 2013 ) The YDP (Young Directors Project) has been an asset to the Salzburg Festival programme since 2002. This successful competition, which each year showcases four young directors and their ensembles, is generously supported by Montblanc International and has become an indispensable part of the summer festival.

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Classy Party Favours for Ladies and Gentlemen at this Year’s Festival Ball

( 29 Jul 2013 ) The guests of this year’s Festival Ball on August 31 may look forward not only to a wonderful programme, but also to very exclusive gifts. The firms Estée Lauder and Rimowa have donated particularly classy party favours for the ladies and gentlemen attending.

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Family Guy Christopher Maltman Sings the Title Role in the Opera "Gawain"

( 26 Jul 2013 ) The first opera premiere of the Salzburg Festival is about to take place: Harrison Birtwistle’s Gawain has that honour tonight at the Felsenreitschule. Christopher Maltman, who takes on the title role in this opera, writes about his time in Salzburg, his work and the concept for Gawain. Find out what Chris Maltman likes to do in his free time and why Alvis Hermanis is the perfect stage director-cum-midwife for the whole thing, by clicking …

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The World of the Salzburg Festival live on TV and Radio

( 26 Jul 2013 ) Once again, numerous Salzburg Festival productions are being recorded in cooperation with the exclusive media partner Unitel, the ORF and Servus TV and broadcast via TV or radio in cooperation with various stations. Of course that is a wonderful possibility to experience the Salzburg Festival – occasionally even live! Here is a glimpse of the great variety of media productions scheduled for broadcast this year – mark the date of your favourite production in red in your calendar now!

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Siemens Festival>Nights and Children’s>Festival • Experience the Salzburg Festival for free

( 25 Jul 2013 ) Starting tomorrow, the Siemens Festival>Nights will once again allow ‘everyman’ to experience the Salzburg Festival. Every evening from July 26 to September 1, productions from the festival will be shown for free at Salzburg’s Kapitelplatz on an LED wall that offers the highest picture and sound quality and is suitable for use in daylight. The program includes both current productions and recordings of past performances. Numerous live broadcasts will once again allow visitors to enjoy the flair of premiere events. “The Siemens Festival>Nights are an internationally unparalleled cultural public screening at the very highest level. Every year, we give tens of thousands of fans of the arts free access to operas, theater performances and concerts in the heart of Salzburg’s old town.” explained Wolfgang Hesoun, CEO of Siemens Austria.

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Festive Opening Ceremony of the 93rd Salzburg Festival

( 25 Jul 2013 ) Federal President Dr. Heinz Fischer, the Minister for Education, Arts and Culture, Dr. Claudia Schmied, Landeshauptmann Dr. Wilfried Haslauer and Festival President Dr. Helga Rabl-Stadler will open the 2013 Salzburg Festival on July 26, 2013 at 11:00 am at the Felsenreitschule. The keynote address will be delivered this year by the founder of El Sistema, Maestro José Antonio Abreu.

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Final Rehearsal Period for the “Abductors”

( 24 Jul 2013 ) It won’t be long now: preparations are in full swing. The last screws are tightened. Lights are being coordinated. Costumes are being perfected. We have reached the final stretch. Our premiere of the opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail für Kinder takes place on Saturday, July 27, 2013 and the tension is mounting.

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Culinary Delights at the Salzburg Festival Ball

( 22 Jul 2013 ) The rising star of the local gastronomic scene, Salzburg’s award-winning chef Andreas Döllerer, seemed to have no problem whatsoever assembling the infrastructure for the gala dinner for 530 persons at last year’s Ball at the Residenz, feeding the guests within a short period of time at the highest level and offering exquisite specialties from the Salzburg region. He presented this year’s Festival menu for the gala dinner at the 2^nd Salzburg Festival Ball on August 31 at a rehearsal dinner with Artistic Director Alexander Pereira and Daniela de Souza as well as the Meistersinger artists Monika Bohinec, Michael Volle, Peter Sonn and Markus Werba. The dinner took place at his gourmet restaurant in Golling. 

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Intensive Encounter with Gustav Mahler

In his symphonies, Gustav Mahler formulated a utopia which he described as a “longing beyond the things of this world”. With the complete performance of all nine finished symphonies, the 2013 Salzburg Festival offers an opportunity to experience Mahler’s cosmos in all its facets. In order to make this encounter with Gustav Mahler even more intensive, we were able to engage Gilbert Kaplan, who has studied the life and work of this composer like hardly anyone else today, to give two lectures.

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Female Power at the Festspielhaus • Now also in the Visual Arts

( 19 Jul 2013 ) Under the title NO MAN’S HEAVEN, the artist Eva Schlegel exhibits her works of art at the Haus für Mozart and the Karl-Böhm-Saal, in the windows of the Festspielhaus and in the entrance area of the Felsenreitschule, starting on July 20, 2013. However, you have surely encountered her – or rather, her works – before. After all, her images have been seen on the Salzburg Festival’s homepage since November 2012, and they accompany our entire 2013 Festival season. For more information on the exhibit and to read an introduction by President Helga Rabl-Stadler on the artist Eva Schlegel and her work, please click through to the article.

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Music and Theatre for Everybody at the Festival Opening Party

( 19 Jul 2013 ) Following the motto “A Festival for Everyone”, Salzburg’s historical centre becomes the backdrop for about 80 events of different genres on July 19 and 20. At 32 performance venues, the 2013 Salzburg Festival is launched with a celebration of diversity. Of course, the performers include a number of Festival artists who take this opportunity to introduce themselves to the Salzburg audience. Without admission, you can enjoy an intriguing and surprising programme.

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Ouverture spirituelle under the Sign of Buddhism

( 18 Jul 2013 ) Last year, the newly-introduced concert series Ouverture spirituelle met with a most enthusiastic echo. Also this year, the Salzburg Festival will once again open with sacred music, and again, works by Catholic and Protestant composers will be juxtaposed with another religion – this time, it will be Buddhism, brought to you via traditional and recent music from Japan.

Our program guide offers an overview of all the events pertaining to the Ouverture spirituelle series: 

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A Glimpse of the Final Rehearsals for the New “Jedermann”

( 17 Jul 2013 ) How does one approach a work with such a long tradition as Jedermann? The two directors Julian Crouch and Brian Mertes have sought their very own path to realising the mystery play on Cathedral Square, inspired both by the past and the future. The production of their predecessor Christian Stückl was seen for eleven years on Cathedral Square. With their version, the directing duo from the USA and England want to return to the roots.

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Happy Birthday, Sir Harrison Birtwistle!

( 15 Jul 2013 ) 

We congratulate Sir Harrison Birtwistle on his 79th birthday! Born in Accrington, Great Britain, on July 15, 1934, he is considered one of the most important contemporary composers in Europe today. This year, the Salzburg Festival focuses on his oeuvre in its programme. First and foremost, there is his opera Gawain, which will have its premiere on July 26 at the Felsenreitschule. Furthermore, we present selected Birtwistle works as part of the series Salzburg contemporary: for example at a concert of the Klangforum Wien on July 31, or with the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna on August 12, 2013, which will see the Austrian premiere of his Concerto for Violin and Orchestra.

Comedy and Earnestness at Casa Verdi

( 14 Jul 2013 ) In six performances, Ambrogio Maestri will portray the role of Sir John Falstaff in Falstaff, Verdi’s commedia lirica – this will be his 20^th new production of this opera! Of course, even in the productions that Maestri has been part of so far, Falstaff was never really young – however, the fact that the subject of age and ageing is as central as in Salzburg is a new experience for him. Director Damiano Michieletto has found his very own way of staging Verdi’s last opera. On Thursday, the press had the opportunity to talk to the artists featured in this production.

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First Impressions of a “Young Singer” at the Salzburg Festival

( 12 Jul 2013 ) Soprano Theresa Dittmar is a participant in the Young Singers Project at the Salzburg Festival this year. She was born in Klagenfurt in 1988 and has studied both at the Klagenfurt Conservatory and at the Academy of Music and Theatre “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” in Leipzig. As part of the Young Singers Project, she will perform in two opera productions: Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Die Zauberflöte for Children. Over the coming weeks, Theresa Dittmar will recount her experiences in Salzburg and at the Salzburg Festival, giving you an insight into the rehearsal process.

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Free Rides to the Salzburg Festival!

( 12 Jul 2013 ) We are counting down the days and the Salzburg Festival is right around the corner. And we’ll tell you the easiest way to get to the performance venue of your choice: the best idea is to leave the car at home, avoiding traffic jams and the search for a parking spot, and instead taking public transport – get to your Festival performance relaxed and ready! For once again, your Festival tickets are valid for free transportation within the City of Salzburg.

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Festival Ball 2013 • The Debutantes' Auditions

( 9 Jul 2013 ) Auditions, tailored costumes, fittings and an intensive week of rehearsals... For the debutantes, the preparations for the festive opening of the Second Salzburg Festival Ball on Saturday, August 13, at the Felsenreitschule are not so very different from those of our performers in the opera or theatre productions. The only difference is that they are not professional dancers, but 120 young ladies and gentlemen, most of whom are incredibly nervous and excited before their great moment in the spotlight. Many of them – some of them have just graduated from secondary school – will be opening a ball for the first time.

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MONTBLANC & SALZBURG FESTIVAL YOUNG DIRECTORS PROJECT 2013

( 21 Jun 2013 ) The YDP (Young Directors Project) has been an asset to the Salzburg Festival programme since 2002. This successful competition, which each year showcases four young directors and their ensembles, is generously supported by Montblanc International and has become an indispensable part of the summer festival.

read on ...

Brian Mertes and Julian Crouch about the new production "Jedermann"

( 7 Jun 2013 )  Ideally we would like to be able to meet each of you in person in order to tell you what Jedermann means to us and how we are approaching our production. However, as our rehearsals have now begun and these are demanding our full attention, we regret that this will simply not be possible. We therefore hope that this will offer you some insight into what we are doing.

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Playful Wit with Serious Undertones in the Salzburg Festival’s Falstaff Production

( 24 May 2013 ) The first rehearsals for Verdi’s Falstaff in Damiano Michieletto’s production took place already during the spring. The production has its premiere on July 29 at the Haus für Mozart. With his last work, the almost 80-year-old Verdi fulfilled his own urgent wish to compose one last comic opera. Under this comedy’s playful surface, serious topics like social exclusion, age and ageing are revealed. We offer you an insight into the director’s work – watch our rehearsal video and peek behind the scenes…

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Die Entführung aus dem Serail - from Salzburg’s Hangar-7 Salzburg

( 24 May 2013 ) The Salzburg Festival and ServusTV present an extraordinary novelty in an unusual venue. The Festival’s Artistic Director, Alexander Pereira, has announced this production of Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio at Salzburg’s Hangar-7 as “an opera marching to a different drummer”. It takes place as part of a live broadcast on Monday, August 26, 2013 at 8:15 pm on ServusTV.

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Roses: Theme of the 2013 Salzburg Festival Ball

( 23 May 2013 ) With the first Festival Ball in 2012, the Festival hearkened back to Max Reinhardt’s traditions, reviving a hallmark, an artistic and social highlight of the Salzburg Festival season. After the great success last year, when Festival stars and international guests enjoyed the Ball, there will be a few innovations for the second edition on August 31, 2013. However, we can reveal this year’s theme to you: roses!

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Experience the Mariinsky Ballet in Le Sacre du printemps

( 18 May 2013 )  Le Sacre du printemps is featured in no less than two productions at this year’s Whitsun Festival. On the one hand, it is the focus of the exhibit re-rite – You are the Orchestra; on the other, it is the highlight of the programme point SpringSACRIFICE, featuring the Mariinsky Ballet. Experience Igor Stravinsky’s impressive score and its archaic rhythms on two occasions at the Großes Festspielhaus under the baton of Valery Gergiev.

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Storms of Applause after Norma Premiere

( 18 May 2013 ) Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma staged by Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier, conducted by Giovanni Antonini with Cecilia Bartoli in the title role: all this and more made the audience’s hearts beat quicker at yesterday’s Norma premiere! The guests thanked the artists and team with extensive applause between scenes and several minutes of curtain calls.

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Nestlé and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award 2013: The Winner for 2013 is Ben Gernon

( 12 May 2013 ) Ben Gernon from Great Britain, aged 23, convinced the international jury chaired by Ingo Metzmacher during the Award Concert Weekend at the Felsenreitschule by performing works by Peter Maxwell Davies, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven with the Camerata Salzburg.

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Introducing Antonio Méndez, the Third Finalist of the Young Conductors Award

( 8 May 2013 )  And finally, we introduce you to the remaining finalist, Antonio Méndez from Spain, who will conduct the Munich Radio Orchestra with soloist Sebastian Manz at the Felsenreitschule on May 12, 2013 at 11:00 am. He has also provided us with interesting answers to several questions.

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Questions for the Second Finalist of the Young Conductors Award – Yu Lu

( 6 May 2013 )  The second finalist of the Nestlé and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award is Yu Lu from China. Read here what the finale and music in general mean to him. Yu Lu will conduct the Mozarteum Orchestra with soloist Vilde Frang on May 11, 2013 at 8:00 pm.

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Opening of the Exhibit re-rite – You are the Orchestra

( 2 May 2013 ) Tomorrow is the big day – the long-awaited exhibit re-rite – You are the Orchestra opens at the Rauchmühle in Salzburg, as part of the Whitsun Festival. The Philharmonia Orchestra and its conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen give a whole new shape to Le Sacre du printemps as an interactive performance. Join them on this virtual journey and experience the piece from a musician’s perspective!

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In Conversation with the First of Three Finalists of the Young Conductors Award – Ben Gernon

( 29 Apr 2013 )  On May 10, 11 and 12, the Award Concert Weekend for the Nestlé and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Awards takes place at the Felsenreitschule. Here, we introduce you to the three finalists. We have asked them about themselves, their musical development, their love for music and the final round they are facing. Three subsequent blogs will give you an impression of Ben Gernon, Yu Lu and Antonio Méndez. We start out with Ben Gernon from Great Britain, who will lead the first concert of the Award Concert Weekend on May 10, 2013 at 8:00 pm, featuring the Camerata Salzburg and Sophie Pacini as piano soloist.

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El Sistema – An Idea Spreading throughout the World

( 26 Apr 2013 )  Music as a means to change society. This vision of José Antonio Abreu stood at the beginning of the initiative El Sistema. And this vision has become reality. More than two million children have profited from El Sistema in Venezuela since its founding; currently almost 400,000 children, mainly from disadvantaged social strata, are learning an instrument and making music in the country’s ensembles and orchestras, gaining a new perspective on life. In the meantime, the movement has spread around the world. More than one hundred similar projects all over the world have taken inspiration from this great philosophy, believing passionately in the power of music. We share this passion and are convinced that El Sistema at the Salzburg Festival will contribute to strengthening existing initiatives – like superar – and providing new impulses for the realisation of similar projects in other countries, especially in Central and Eastern Europe. 

Download the El Sistema programme here:

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PoliticalSACRIFICE and SpringSACRIFICE in Focus

( 25 Apr 2013 ) The leitmotif “Sacrifice” is the overarching motto of the 2013 Whitsun Festival. Etymologically, the German word Opfer, or sacrifice, is derived from the Latin offerre, which is also the root of Offertorium – the moment during mass when wine and bread, symbols of Christ’s sacrifice, are brought to the altar. The themes of redemption and hope, of sacrifice and the sacrificed have inspired great artists to create innumerable musical works. Now the Whitsun Festival brings together some of these great works on stage. 

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Save the Date - Award Concert Weekend - May 10-12, 2013

( 22 Apr 2013 ) 3 young conductors present 3 concerts with 3 soloists at the Felsenreitschule

Once again, the three finalists of the “Nestlé and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award” will have the opportunity to conduct one concert at the Felsenreitschule featuring one of the three partner orchestras and a young soloist.

The 29-year-old Spaniard Antonio Méndez, 23-year-old Ben Gernon from Great Britain and 23-year-old Yu Lu from China were selected from 82 applicants by the jury of this year’s “Nestlé and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award”, chaired by Ingo Metzmacher.

On May 10, 11 and 12, the three conductors present themselves to the public during the Award Concert Weekend, leading the Camerata Salzburg, the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg and the Munich Radio Orchestra in programmes of their choosing.

The initiative’s goal is to give highly talented young artists a decisive impulse for their further career. The award derives additional attractiveness from the public presentations of this weekend, featuring three young soloists who are winners of internationally renowned competitions.

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The first rehearsals for Verdi's "Falstaff" in Salzburg

( 11 Apr 2013 ) Anyone walking into the orchestra rehearsal space at Schüttkasten around Eastertide was greeted by a pre-taste of the summer’s Festival atmosphere: from March 20 to April 6, the first rehearsals for Verdi’s Falstaff took place here for the premiere on July 29 at the Haus für Mozart. Before rehearsals resume at the end of June, the Italian stage director Damiano Michieletto also makes his debut at La Scala Milan with Un ballo in maschera – making this a Verdi year for him too.

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“re-rite – Be the Orchestra”

( 10 Apr 2013 ) Who wouldn’t like to be part of the orchestra for once? Take part (virtually) in Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring! This will be possible in May 2013, when the Salzburg Whitsun Festival presents Esa-Pekka Salonen’s and the Philharmonia Orchestra’s multi-media, interactive installation re-rite – You are the Orchestra in Salzburg. Exactly 100 years after the world premiere of Le Sacre du printemps, this installation will bring one of the most exciting works in musical history to Salzburg’s audiences in a completely new way. Follow every note of the strings, keep a close watch on the solo trumpeter’s fingers, beat the drum or lift the baton yourself!

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Reopening of Muza Hall in Kawasaki in the Presence of the Directorate

( 7 Apr 2013 ) The Salzburg Festival contributed the proceeds of a benefit dress rehearsal to the reconstruction of this world-famous concert hall.

The bells of Salzburg Cathedral, previously recorded, tolled for the reopening of Muza Hall, famed all over the world for its acoustics, today, Sunday, at 3:00 pm local time in Kawasaki. Under the baton of Hubert Soudant, the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra performed Anton Bruckner’s …

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Starting now: Buy your tickets directly online!

April 02 is the start-date for our general ticket sales. Starting immediately, you can buy your Festival tickets online, with the unique opportunity to check the sightlines of your selected seat. Even though ticket sales are brisk so far, there are still tickets left for the occasional performance. Please check our website, which will inform you about current availability of tickets.

Blogs, podcasts and videos already allow you to follow current preparations for the Festival season. Join us in looking forward to a fascinating Festival summer!

Intriguing Insights into the Production of "Lucio Silla"

( 1 Apr 2013 ) Lucio Silla relates the story of the dictatorship of Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix, a consul of the late Roman Republic, and his historically verified resignation. Together with his librettist Giovanni de Gamerra, the 16-year-old Wolfgang A. Mozart portrayed one of the most controversial and presumably most widely hated personalities in history.
You now have the opportunity to look behind the scenes, getting a first-hand look at the rehearsal progress and hearing what music director Marc Minkowski and stage director Marshall Pynkoski have to say about their work on the new production of this opera.

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Young Singers Tread the Red Carpet at MIDEM in Cannes

( 4 Feb 2013 ) For the first time since the founding of the Salzburg Festival’s Young Singers Project six years ago, four of its young singers performed for the international audience of the world’s largest music trade-fair, midem, in Cannes. The Hungarian soprano Maria Celeng, the Italian mezzo-soprano Benedetta Mazzucato, the Austrian tenor Clemens Kerschbaumer and the Ukrainian baritone Yiuri Samoilov took their audience by storm during a recital in Cannes in the South of France, performing a total of seventeen arias by Handel, Hasse, Mozart, Mascagni, Massenet, Bizet, Rossini, Tchaikovsky, Britten and Verdi. 

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Nestlé and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award 2013 - Three finalists have been announced

( 30 Jan 2013 ) Out of 82 applicants, including 11 women, the jury of the “Nestlé and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award” chaired by Ingo Metzmacher has selected three conductors: the 29-year old Antonio Méndez from Spain, the 23-year old Ben Gernon from Great Britain and 23-year old Yu Lu from China. The three finalists will present themselves to the public on May 10, 11 and 12 during the Award Concert Weekend.

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Mozart’s Lucio Silla as a Musical Herald of the 2013 Festival Summer

( 24 Jan 2013 ) Lucio Silla marks the fascinating point at which the child prodigy Mozart transformed himself into a mature composer. After Mitridate and Ascanio in Alba, this opera was his third commission from Milan – at the age of only 16. The co-production with the Mozarteum Foundation Salzburg has its premiere today as part of the Mozart Week and will be presented at the Salzburg Festival starting on July 27, 2013.

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Extend the Ball Season!

( 22 Jan 2013 ) While the season’s complement of balls and dances is in full swing in Vienna, it finishes in the capital on Shrove Tuesday – in Salzburg, on the other hand, you can extend the ball season with a particularly festive night: since last year, the Salzburg Festival has its crowning finale in the Salzburg Festival Ball – taking place this year on August 31. Starting at 6:00 pm with a festive gala dinner at the Archiepiscopal Residence, it continues with a ceremonious march to the Felsenreitschule, where the official ball opens at 9:30 pm with the dance of 60 debutante couples. Furthermore, the event features a concert by some of the Festival’s exclusive stars.

Join us as we celebrate the highlight of the Festival, watch the debutantes glide through their opening dance and enjoy the wonderful backdrop of the Felsenreitschule – all through an unforgettably festive night!

Further information on the Second Festival Ball may be found in the following folder:

Simon Schwarz plays the Devil in the new production of Jedermann

( 18 Jan 2013 ) The Austrian actor Simon Schwarz will be the new Devil on Cathedral Square when Jedermann takes the stage this summer. In the new production by Julian Crouch and Brian Mertes, Simon Schwarz will join Cornelius Obonya in the title role, Brigitte Hobmeier as the Lover and Peter Lohmeyer as Death, among others. Simon Schwarz has previously played opposite Cornelius Obonya in Kottan ermittelt – Rien ne va plus and in the film adaptation of the mystery Die Mutprobe by Lisa Lercher, among others.

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Die Entführung aus dem Serail at Hangar-7 • A Very Special Opera Experience

( 7 Jan 2013 ) On August 26, Hangar-7 at the Salzburg Airport will be transformed into an event location resounding with culture, when Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail, produced especially for TV viewers in coproduction with ServusTV, is broadcast live from there.

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