Bregenz Festival is very satisfied with the season that is now over

So far this year, the festival has had to accept four cancellations due to rain, after the second failure insurance took effect. The last time the rain canceled four times was in 1986 for “The Magic Flute.” However, according to commercial director Michael Deem, that’s still within budget. Festival president Hans-Peter Metzler was also very satisfied: “It looks like we’re going through a wave of success, so of course I’m very, very happy.” An unprecedented range of programs was presented, and both visitors and critics were mostly enthusiastic about the production. Artistic Director Sobotka was “happy all around”.

Unlike other places, the festival had no difficulty with the low number of visitors, on the contrary. Deem was positively surprised by Madame Butterfly’s 100 percent capacity utilization. There are 26 shows again for next season. Pre-sales start October 3.

About 3,900 visitors watched the opera house of Umberto Giordano “Siberia”, which equates to an occupancy rate of 86 percent. 1,300 spectators watched Der Sturm at the theater am Kornmarkt, along with a Burgtheater guest performance “Geschlusse Gesellschaft” on Easter, with an occupancy rate of 81 percent. The opera performances in “Armida” and “Italian in Algeria” were booked by more than 90 percent. With about 5,100 visitors, the four orchestra concerts occupied 83 percent. Contemporary musical theater tracks “Captain Nemo’s Library” and “Melencolia” reached 72 percent of potential visitors. The productions of “Fräulein Else” and “Musik & Poesie” saw about 900 visitors and about 600 visitors respectively, both of which were over 80 percent booked. The Academy of the Orchestra was introduced for the first time and the “Youth Festival” was attended by about 3,700 visitors.

According to the festival, “Madame Butterfly” is now Puccini’s best opera on the lake. Artistic director Sobotka emphasized that “the essence of Puccini’s music”. Director Andreas Homoki and interior designer Michael Levine were convinced of their ability to create images that could convey something new. The two had created an “incredible light space” on the paper in the lake, according to the director, who described her upcoming departure from Bregenz as a “difficult decision.” As of the 2025 season, the artistic direction of the Bregenz Festival should be filled. The application period runs from October 1 to November 12. At the end of the year, at the latest in the first quarter, a successor will be determined, as festival president Metzler explained the process.

The process will be handled “calmly”, with advice from an agency and a board of experts. There are only a few requests from applicants, and almost the only thing is: “You must understand how Bregenz works.” “Fireworks are only possible if we succeed in the lake. The heart and the engine is the lake,” Metzler asserted. In addition, one wished for “courage, ingenuity and great leadership.” After the summers of 2024 and 2025 with Der Freischütz for Kar-Maria von Weber, he or she would be Responsible for the first new production in the lake in 2026.

And after the final show ends on Sunday, the stage design winter begins, with “Madame Butterfly” to be recorded again from July 20, 2023. The day before, on July 19, the 77th season of the Bregenz Festival opened with Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “Ernani” “. Until then, procedures for revamping the systems will also ensure life in the cabin. The runway will be renovated from next week. Officials were also looking forward to the extensions in the workshop stage area, where the assembly hall space issue for parallax parts was resolved. Thermal regeneration and greening of the house are also pending.

(Service – Bregenz Festival until August 21, more information and tickets at)