Final Report on the 2026 Salzburg Festival
Two days from now, the 106th Salzburg Festival will end after 172 performances over the course of 45 days at 19 performance venues, plus 37 performances as part of the youth programme “jung & jede*r”. For these 209 performances, the projected capacity of seats filled exceeds 99%. By 30 August, the Festival will have welcomed more than 261,300 guests from 84 countries, including 44 non-European nations. Austria, Germany, the USA, Switzerland, Japan, France, Great Britain, Italy, Spain and South Korea lead the ranking by country. In addition, more than 60,000 visitors attended the Siemens Festival Nights and the open-air events of the Festival Opening Party.
UNITEL, the exclusive audiovisual media partner of the Festival, and its partners ORF 2, ORF III, BR/SWR/WDR for ARTE, NHK, 3sat, Mezzo, medici.tv and Deutsche Grammophon, as well as Ö1, produced a multitude of recordings. In 2026, there were eight television and streaming productions and 21 radio recordings. Thanks to the partners in the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the radio broadcasts and audiovisual broadcasts reached a worldwide audience numbering in the millions.
The 2026 Salzburg Festival looks back upon a highly successful summer featuring an extraordinary artistic programme, which will also exceed all expectations in economic terms. In the opera, concert and drama departments, classical repertoire was complemented by modern works and world premieres; revivals took their place next to new discoveries. The audience demonstrated its enthusiasm for the programme, celebrating ‘its’ artists after almost every performance with standing ovations. We are grateful to all the people who made the Festival a unique experience once again – and to the visitors who put their trust in the Salzburg Festival year after year,” says the Directorate, Kristina Hammer, Karin Bergmann and Lukas Crepaz.
Nine opera productions: the new productions Carmen, Ariadne auf Naxos and Saint François d’Assise and the revivals of Il viaggio a Reims and Così fan tutte were presented in full stage productions. Lucio Silla was shown in a semi-staged version. Passion, Werther and Der Prinz von Homburg were performed in concert. Commemorating the 100th birthdays of its creators Ingeborg Bachmann and Hans Werner Henze this year, the opera Der Prinz von Homburg was one of the few opportunities to experience a musical theatre work by Henze in 2026.
The programme included 84 concert performances. Eight of them as well as the opera-in-concert Passion were part of the series Ouverture spirituelle, dedicated this year to the theme “Miserere”. Nine concerts made up the series Hommage à GYÖRGY KURTÁG; four concerts were marked Visions de MESSIAEN. A new series of portrait concerts of contemporary composers was devoted to Francesca Verunelli. Once again, the traditional concert series Vienna Philharmonic, Guest Orchestras, Chamber Concerts, Solo Recitals, Kleine Nachtmusiken, Canto Lirico & Song Recitals, Mozart Matinees · Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, Camerata Salzburg, Herbert von Karajan Young Conductors Award: concert of the YCA winner Christian Blex, the Young Singers Project and Sacred Concert took place.
The drama offerings included not only the revival of Jedermann, but the world premieres Schnee von gestern, Schnee von morgen by Peter Handke and Unter Tieren by Elfriede Jelinek, new productions of Faust I and Le Misanthrope as well as the guest productions De Profundis and Europa. There were also three readings: Peter Handkes Wunschloses Unglück, Elfriede Jelinek’s Winterreise and Ingeborg Bachmann. Wer? Following great demand, an additional performance of Faust I was added to the programme. A film series at Salzburg’s centre of film culture DAS KINO complemented the drama programme of the Salzburg Festival from 7 to 14 August, screening six films focusing on the work of Peter Handke, Elfriede Jelinek and Ingeborg Bachmann. Out of 15 Jedermann performances, eight took place on Cathedral Square, five at the Großes Festspielhaus, while two required a move from Cathedral Square to the Großes Festspielhaus.
The youth programme “jung & jede*r” brought the new composition King Arthur Junior and the two new productions Kri and Holle! to the stage at the Schauspielhaus. The model of the Festival mentorships continued successfully; more than 7,600 youth tickets to performances in all genres were purchased by people under the age of 27. The 2026 Festival summer also brought the 20-year anniversary of the Opera Camps, which approximately 2,500 children and teenagers from 42 nations have attended since their inception in 2006.
For the first time, the Archive Festival Staging Realities – The Living Archive took place at the UMAK (Universität Mozarteum am Kurgarten) from 18 to 29 August. The four installations included in this project formed part of a two-hour guided tour offered regularly.
