(Photo: Fabio Ceresa) One of the highlights of this summer’s Innsbruck Early Music Festival will undoubtedly be a fully staged production of Antonio Cesti’s opera from 1668, “Il pomo d’oro,” to a libretto by Francesco Sbarra. Written for the Austrian Empress, Margaret Theresa’s 17th birthday in a specially constructed outdoor theater in Vienna, it has been described as the empire’s {…}
Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik announces its program for the 2026 season. This article only features opera events. Opening the festival is the workshop concert which features a sneak peak into Ottavio Dantone’s reconstruction of Pietro Antonio Cesti’s “Il pomo d’oro.” This event is presented in a a hybrid format combining elements of concert and rehearsal. The Accademia Bizantina Ensemble {…}
(Photo: Birgit Gufler) Each year, the Innsbruck Early Music Festival presents its Oper: Jung, an opera performed by singers in the early stages of their careers, who recently made strong impressions at the festival’s Cesti competition. It is an event that rarely disappoints. Not only are the productions of a very high standard, but it is also exciting to watch {…}
(Photo:Birgit Gufler) In 1718, the Venetian composer Antonio Caldara and the librettist Apostolo Zeno premiered their opera “Ifigenia in Aulide” for the imperial court in Vienna to celebrate Emperor Karl VI of Austria’s name day. This summer, over three hundred years since its last staging, the Innsbruck Early Music Festival brought together a stellar cast under the musical direction of {…}
(Photo: Iga Beata Mackiewicz) Countertenor Rafal Tomkiewicz first came to the attention of OperaWire in 2018 at the Innsbruck Early Music Festival, where he was competing in the final of the Cesti Competition. It was an event that proved to be a springboard that launched his international career. Since that time, Tomkiewicz has seen his profile rise and now performs {…}
As usual, the 2024 Innsbruck Early Music Festival brought a rare work to the stage: Francesco Bartolomeo Conti’s “Il trionfo della Fama,” a one-act serenata composed in 1723 for the coronation of Emperor Charles VI and Empress Elisabeth Christine in Prague. Conceived as court propaganda, the serenata was commissioned to glorify imperial virtues and Habsburgs’ claims to the divine favor {…}
(Photo credit: © Wibmer) The Pietro Antonio Cesti Competition is a major annual highlight in the world of baroque opera that takes place at the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music, featuring young baroque singers from all over the world. This year’s competition was full of exciting and inspiring moments that OperaWire had the honor of experiencing live. The audience {…}
(Photo: Birgit Gufler) One of the more interesting events at Innsbruck’s Early Music Festival is its Oper Jung production, cast with singers who took part in the previous year’s Cesti Competition and who, therefore, are generally in the early stages of their careers. This summer’s presentation was Händel’s 1734 opera “Arianna in Creta,” which relates Theseus’s quest to kill the {…}
(Photo credit: Alexander Kofler) OperaWire had the incredible opportunity to attend the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music this summer and learn firsthand about what makes this local community, nestled in the Austrian Alps, inspiring at an international level both artistically and sustainably. Innsbruck, Austria is a place where everything and everyone participates in celebrating Early Music as an art for {…}
The story of how Accademia Bizantina (AB) began seems quite simple. But like all good stories, there is more to it than meets the eye. In 1983 three classmates of the Ravenna Conservatory met for coffee. This initial meeting included Angelo Nicastro, a violist and now director of the Ravenna Festival; Romano Valentini, a pianist, organist, and harpsichordist, as well {…}
The Innsbruck Festival of Early Music has announced that Ottavio Dantone will take over as music director for the next five years. He joins new Artistic Director Eva-Maria Sens in taking over for Alessandro De Marchi, who held the position of Artistic Director from 2010-2023. Additionally, the Accademia Bizantia of Ravenna, Italy will become the “Orchestra in Residence” during those {…}