Blog entries

Young Singers Tread the Red Carpet at MIDEM in Cannes

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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“re-rite – Be the Orchestra”

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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Intriguing Insights into the Production of "Lucio Silla"

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

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!

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

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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Save the Date - Award Concert Weekend - May 10-12, 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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PoliticalSACRIFICE and SpringSACRIFICE in Focus

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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El Sistema – An Idea Spreading throughout the World

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

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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