Blog entries

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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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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“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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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!

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

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

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!

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: