Each summer, when opera is performed on the shores of Lake Constance, classical music steps out of the confines of the concert hall. An opera house usually presents itself to the city through its façade, while the performance itself remains hidden within. In Bregenz, however, this relationship is reversed: The performance unfolds outward. In doing so, music becomes public, creating a powerful symbol of what the city and the region stand for—the connection of culture and nature, with music at its vibrant center, bringing people together from the widest range of backgrounds.

Culture as a Collective Experience

The Bregenzer Festspiele is often described as both an artistic event and a major tourist attraction. This is where the research project takes a broader view. A performance on the Seebühne is more than a festival evening—it is a shared public experience. The project asks whether and how the Bregenzer Festspiele functions as cultural infrastructure: as a recurring space where classical music is a living practice. Its innovative perspective lies in a simple yet far-reaching shift in focus. The term "infrastructure" initially brings to mind roads, bridges, energy systems, transportation, or digital networks. Yet this is precisely where the project's central thesis begins: Cultural institutions do not merely depend on infrastructure—they can themselves function as infrastructure.

The Bregenzer Festspiele provides an ideal case through which to explore what this means in practice. There is little dispute that infrastructure is essential; it is regarded as one of the foundations on which society depends. 

Culture, by contrast, is often viewed as an offering that requires public support and is therefore seen primarily as an additional expense. People are quick to point out the festival's significance for tourism and the economy. Yet even this perspective captures only part of what takes place here. The Bregenzer Festspiele draws people together: local residents and tourists, long-time audiences and curious first-time visitors, many of whom may initially be captivated simply by the unique atmosphere of Lake Constance. It is precisely this mix that makes the Seebühne a socially inclusive space. For the region, the festival is woven into the rhythm of the year: The construction of the stage, the rehearsals, and the first glimpses of the stage all signal the arrival of summer. In this way, too, the Bregenzer Festspiele is essential as cultural infrastructure for society: It creates opportunities for cultural participation.

1946 – A Festival as a Symbol of Hope?

This is particularly evident when looking at the early years of the Bregenzer Festspiele. The festival was founded at a time when much was in short supply: money, materials and political certainty. That makes the decision to establish a cultural event all the more revealing. What hopes were invested in it? Was it about artistic opportunity, social orientation, regional visibility, or a possible indicator of the future? These historical sources—program booklets, press coverage, minutes of proceedings, as well as performance and administrative documents—therefore form the starting point of the study. They offer a way to examine the hopes that were attached to this cultural initiative during those difficult years and to ask whether the infrastructural functions that today seem almost self-evident were already beginning to emerge in the festival's earliest days.

The Value Beyond Numbers

An initial finding of the research project is already beginning to take shape: Viewing the Bregenzer Festspiele as cultural infrastructure fundamentally changes how its value to society is understood. This also changes the criteria by which cultural institutions are assessed: Not solely in terms of visitor numbers, ticket sales, tourism, or economic impact—as important as these factors undoubtedly remain.

Instead, forms of value come into view that are far more difficult to quantify. Yet this is precisely where the broader significance of the project lies. It asks what cultural institutions contribute before those contributions are translated into numbers. At the Opera at the Lake, it becomes tangible what cultural infrastructure can mean: This is where public space is created.