(Photo: Bregenz Festival / Daniel Ammann) Few festivals possess an identity as distinctive as the Bregenz Festival. Founded in 1946 on the shores of Lake Constance, it rapidly became one of Europe’s most recognizable summer events through its spectacular Seebühne (Lake Stage), an immense floating stage whose colossal engineering feats and monumental scenery have become as celebrated as the performances {…}
(Phot0: Bregenz Festival / Daniel Ammann) Leoš Janáček’s “The Excursions of Mr. Brouček” has long been overshadowed by “Jenůfa,” “Káťa Kabanová,” “The Cunning Little Vixen” and “The Makropulos Affair.” This curious, episodic satire has never fully secured its place in the repertoire, perhaps because it occupies an awkward territory between affectionate comedy, political allegory and biting social critique. Yet it {…}
The Bregenz Festival has announced its 2024 season. The festival will be held between July 17 and August 18, 2024. The season will open with Philipp Stölzl’s production of Carl Maria von Weber’s “Der Freischütz.” The production will star Liviu Holender, Johannes Kammler, Franz Hawlata, Raimund Nolte, Vera-Lotte Boecker, Nikola Hillebrand, Elissa Huber, Hanna Herfurtner, Gloria Rehm, Katharina Ruckgaber, Christof Fischesser, {…}
The Bregenz Festival has announced that in the summers of 2026 and 2027, it will show Verdi’s “La Traviata.” The new production by Damiano Michieletto will mark the first time the opera is performed at the festival. In a statement, the designated artistic director Lilli Paasikivi said, “‘La Traviata‘ is the epitome of Italian romantic opera. The story, the music, {…}
Lilli Paasikivi has been appointed to the position of Artistic Director and CEO of the Bregenz Festival. Paasikivi, who is currently the Artistic Director of the Finnish National Opera, will take up her new post starting on Oct. 1, 2024. Paasikivi has held the position at the Finnish National Opera since 2013, where she was key to creating such initiatives {…}
(Credit: Bregenz Festival official website) The Bregenz Festival has announced its 2022 slate, featuring four operas and international stars. Here is the full slate. Operas Rossini’s “L’Italiana in Algeri” stars Maria Barakova as Isabella, Alberto Comes as Mustafa, Sarah Yang as Elvira, and Spencer Britten as Lindoro. The cast also includes Florence Losseau, Hubert Kowalczyk, and Pierpaolo Martella. Jonathan Brandani {…}
The Bregenzer Festspiele, the annual open-air summer opera festival which takes place in Bregenz, Austria, revived its spectacular production of “Rigoletto” this July, a performance which originally premiered in the summer of 2019. After being closed for one season due to the pandemic, the festival has reopened, now requiring attendants to provide proof of negative COVID tests or vaccine certificates {…}
The Bregenz Festival in Austria has announced the 2022 season. The festival will present Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” with Enrique Mazzola conducting a new production by Andreas Homoki. Performance Dates: July 22-August 21, 2022 The second opera of the season will be Giordano’s rarely performed “Siberia.” Valentin Uryupin will conduct the opera with Vasily Barkhatov directing. Performance Date: July 21, 2021 {…}
The Bregenz Festival in Austria has canceled its production of Rossini’s “L’Italiana in Algeri.” The new production by Brigitte Fassbaender, was set to open on August 16 but was canceled after a member of the ensemble received a positive COVID test. The production was scheduled to be performed four times through August 21. According to early reports, the person who {…}
CineLife Entertainment, in collaboration with CinemaLive and C Major Entertainment, have announced that they will present a filmed version of Bizet’s “Carmen” recorded on the floating stage of Lake Constance in Bregenz, Austria. Titled “Carmen on the Lake,” the production will feature a 7,000 seat, open-air amphitheater and will incorporate the lake itself as an extension of the stage. The {…}
(Credit: Genesis Foundation official website) The Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences has announced that famed Serbian composer Isidora Žebeljan has died at the age of 54, after a long illness. Žebeljan graduated from the Faculty of Musical Arts in Belgrade. She was subsequently engaged as a professor of composition at the same faculty since 2002. Žebeljan received commissions from {…}