2016
70 years of Bregenz Festival: big stage - small stage
A historic and unique event gave the go-ahead for the anniversary season on the evening prior to the official opening ceremony: For the first time in history, two Seebühnen located next to each other simultaneously attracted guests - however, they did so in quite opposite dimensions. On the Seebühne Turandot celebrated its revival while at the same time a barge was transformed into a tiny Seebühne where - reminiscent of the very first Bregenz Festival in 1946 - Mozart's light opera Bastien et Bastienne was performed. Admission to the event was free, resulting in 1,800 visitors flocking to the Bregenzer Gondelhafen (gondola port), where the Opera on the Lake had its first home.
A hurricane of applause for Hamlet
"Franco Faccios Amleto turned into a worthwile rediscovery given further impetus by Olivier Tambosi's focused production and Paolo Carignani's playful conducting.
derStandard.at, Daniel Ender
On the opening evening of Bregenz Festival, a long forgotten opera premiered at the Festspielhaus, namely Hamlet: The work of Italian composer Franco Faccio debuted in 1865 in Genua and then vanished from the scene after only one additional performance at La Scala in Milan. It was only in 2014 that the Opera Southwest in Alberquerque (US) rediscovered it. Bregenz Festival brought the opera back to Europe as an Austrian premiere in the summer of 2016. Hamlet received a hurricane of applause from the 4,612 opera fans that visited the Festspielhaus on three evenings. Many interested visitors attended the three orchestral concerts by the Wiener Symphoniker and celebrated them with frenetic applause.
Contemporary times three
With Staatsoperette - Die Austrotragödie, the contemporary programme presented at the Werkstattbühne proved that the premiere of a musical theatre can sell itself to a larger audience. There were actually so many people, that the final rehearsal was opened to the public. The Austrian premiere of Make no noise - a psychological drama about two traumatized people - captivated the audience on two evenings at the Werkstattbühne. During a concert at the Kunsthaus, the Opera Atelier offered an insight into the making of an opera for the fourth time; an opera, which under the name To the Lighthouse is to celebrate its premiere in the upcoming festival summer of 2017 at the Werkstattbühne.
NEUE STIMMEN cooperate with Bregenz Festival for the first time
"The competition "NEUE STIMMEN" hosted by the Bertelsmann Stiftung is a unique opportunity to listen to and meet young, well trained and promising singers from all over the world. Thanks to the competition, we were able to build an excellent foundation for our Opera Studio, which as part of this year's Bregenz Festival will stage Mozart's Don Giovanni. Shortly after the first few days of rehearsal and a masterclass with Brigitte Fassbaender it seems obvious already that there will be a friendly and professional atmosphere among the members of the ensemble."
Artistic Director Elisabeth Sobotka
The NEUE STIMMEN competition hosted by the Bertelsmann Stiftung not only looks for and discovers young promising singers but also supports and accompanies them in the long term faithful to the motto Creating Careers". With this in mind, the foundation cooperates with Bregenz Festival for the first time: Five young singers that took part in the international singing competition NEUE STIMMEN 2015 participate in the Opera Studio at Bregenz Festival and will perform solos in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera Don Giovanni.
Tenor Chen Dashuai from China will play Don Ottavio, soprano Camila Titinger from Brazil will play Donna Elvira and baritone Jung Rae Kim from Korea will take on the role of Masetto. These three artist won the sponsorship award of NEUE STIMMEN 2015. The NEUE STIMMEN singer David Oštrek, a Croatian bass baritone and member of the international opera studio at the Staatsoper Berlin, in the role of Leporello as well as the Israeli mezzo soprano Hagar Sharvit in the role of Zerlina round of the ensemble.