Salzburg Whitsun Festival 2023

Rewarded with a wildly enthusiastic reception from the audience and 98% of seats filled, the 2023 Salzburg Whitsun Festival has drawn to a close. The myth of Orpheus and his journey into the underworld was the thematic focus chosen by ‘Kammersängerin’ and Artistic Director Cecilia Bartoli; with a homage to Daniel Barenboim, she also paid reverence to one of her closest artistic friends and great mentors, on the occasion of his recent significant birthday.
“Last year, amidst many imponderables but inspired by Descartes, we daringly decided to call the programme of this year’s Salzburg Whitsun Festival ‘Les passions de l’âme’ – at the time, we had not even the slightest idea how powerfully the various versions of the Orpheus myth, with their fusions of dance, instrumental music, vocalism and filigree puppetry, would influence our joint music-making with beloved friends and companions – truly moving, enthralling and inspiring us. We are deeply honoured and grateful that a very broad audience follows us on our path, with undiminished interest, in sold-out performances. To me, this is further proof that music, and the arts in general, offer rich nourishment for our souls, in difficult as well as joyful times. We feel these vibrations on stage as you feel them in the auditorium, when we experience a performance together, and, most importantly, live,” says Artistic Director Cecilia Bartoli about this year’s Salzburg Whitsun Festival.
Read more about our Whitsun 2023 recap here.
If you would like to have another look at the programme and find out which productions wowed the audience this year, click here.