Artistic Director Markus Hinterhäuser will step down as Artistic Director of the Salzburg Festival on Sept. 30, 2026.

The news comes after Hinterhäuser did not accept his contract extension before the deadline on Friday after a weeks-long negotiations between the board of trustees and the artistic director.

As a result, the committee is now under pressure, as the festival needs to find a new artistic director. Further decisions will be made at the next meeting of the Board of Trustees.

Originally, Hinterhäuser was offered a third term that would have started on Oct. 1, 2026 and ended in 2031 but the latest offer was only for one year.

The Salzburg Festival opens on July 17 and runs through August 30, 2026 with productions of “Carmen,” “Ariadne auf Naxos” and “Con fan tutte.”

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