The Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) is a culture festival that takes place in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

for five or six weeks in May and June every year. The Vienna Festival was established in 1951, when Vienna was still occupied by the four Allied powers. With a radical socio-political impact, the Vienna Festival , Free Republic of Vienna is Europe's most significant cross-over festival. The Vienna Festival features theatre, opera and dance from all parts of the globe, also acting as producers of international works. Each year, the Vienna Festival is launched with a free, public open-air event held in the square outside of Vienna’s City Hall. The festival attracts about 100,000 visitors per year.

Directors

Directors of the festival include: *1951–1958: Adolph Ario *1959: Rudolf Gamsjäger *1960–1964: Egon Hilbert *1964–1977: Ulrich Baumgartner *1978–1979: Gerhard Freund *1980–1984:

Helmut Zilk Helmut Zilk (9 June 1927 – 24 October 2008) was an Austrian journalist and politician in the Austrian Social Democratic Party. He served as mayor of Vienna between 1984 and 1994. Biography Born in Vienna, Zilk was Mayor of Vienna from 198 ...

*1984–1991: Ursula Pasterk *1991–1996:

Klaus Bachler Klaus Bachler (born 27 July 1991, in Unzmarkt) is an Austrian racing driver. As a Porsche-contracted driver, Bachler has won races in multiple high-level categories, including the Porsche Supercup, ADAC GT Masters, GTWC Europe Endurance Cup, IM ...

*1997–2001:

Luc Bondy Luc Bondy (17 July 1948 – 28 November 2015) was a Swiss theatre and film director. Life and career upright=1.3, '' Charlotte Salomon'' at the Salzburg Festival 2014 Trained in Paris with the theatre teacher Jacques Lecoq, he received a jo ...

/ Klaus-Peter Kehr /

Hortensia Völckers ''Hydrangea'' ( or ) is a genus of more than 70 species of flowering plants native to Asia and the Americas. Hydrangea is also used as the common name for the genus; some (particularly '' H. macrophylla'') are also often called hortensia. The ge ...

*2002–2013:

*2014–2016: Markus Hinterhäuser *2017–2021:

Tomas Zierhofer-Kin Tomas may refer to: People * Tomás (given name), a Spanish, Portuguese, and Gaelic given name * Tomas (given name), a Swedish, Dutch, and Lithuanian given name * Tomáš, a Czech and Slovak given name * Tomàs, a Catalan given name and surname * ...

*2019–2023:

Christophe Slagmuylder Christophe may refer to: People * Christophe (name), list of people with this given name or surname * Christophe (singer) (1945–2020), French singer * Cristophe (hairstylist) (born 1958), Belgian hairstylist * Georges Colomb (1856–1945), Frenc ...

*from 2024:

Milo Rau Milo Rau (born 1977) is a Swiss theatre director, journalist, playwright, essayist, and lecturer. In 2007 he founded a theatre and film production company, the International Institute of Political Murder (IIPM), and from 2018 until 2023 was the ...

History

For five to six weeks during May and June every year, the Vienna Festival seeks to create or contribute to cultural events that combine highest artistic demands and relevant socio-political issues and goals. As an innovative and international urban festival, the Vienna Festival opens a window to the international world of theatre and features a wide range of contemporary art forms and languages. The programme seeks to bridge tradition and current developments in productions from all genres: operas, concerts, drama, performances, installations, readings, films. Valued classics are shown in new productions next to premieres of contemporary works with international directors; artists as well as ensembles from across the globe present celebrated works, frequently in their original languages. The programme usually comprises about forty productions as well as numerous additional events that are free of charge. The very first Vienna Festival events took place as early as 1927. The Vienna Festival was then re-established after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, in 1951, while the city of Vienna was still occupied by the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

. In 1952, the Vienna Festival was one of the founding organisations of the

European Festivals Association The European Festivals Association (EFA) is an umbrella group for various festivals in Europe and other countries. It supports artistic cooperation among festivals and offers programs for new festival and artistic managers. It represents more than ...

. The

Theater an der Wien The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prim ...

has been one of the festival’s main stages since 1962, next to Halle E and Halle G at MuseumsQuartier. Productions are also staged at numerous further, varying sites across the city.

was the Vienna Festival’s artistic director from 2002, having already been its director of performing arts from 1998. Between 2014 and 2016, Markus Hinterhäuser took on the festival’s artistic direction, followed by Tomas Zierhofer-Kin in the years 2017 and 2018. Under the artistic directorship of Christophe Slagmuylder (2019 – 2023), the Vienna Festival became ''Festwochen 2020 reframed'' during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, with digital events on offer during May and June followed by fifteen live productions staged between 26 August and 26 September 2020. Most of the world premieres that had originally been scheduled for that year were shifted to 2021. In 2024, artistic director

proclaimed the Free Republic of Vienna as a total work of art – from the opening event via various productions and the topical focus to the Vienna Declaration (Constitution of the Free Republic of Vienna). The future form of festivals was debated in a range of participative formats, such as the Council of the Republic, and with an extended network of local and international partners. Real protagonists of current events appeared in three ''Vienna Trials'' – productions staged as judicial trials. The newly established Academy Second Modernism is the global womxn composers’ platform of the Vienna Festival , Free Republic of Vienna, which aims to significantly raise the share of works by womxn composers featured in the programmes of concerts, festivals and operas across the globe. Its patron is Nuria Nono-Schoenberg.

Highlights

* 1951 "

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...

“ by

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

, direction: Oscar Fritz Schuh, musical direction: Karl Böhm * 1976 "Proletenpassion“ by and with Schmetterlinge * 1981 the poetical varieté "Flic Flac“ by

André Heller Franz André Heller (; born 22 March 1947 as Francis Charles Georges Jean André Heller-Hueart) is an Austrian artist, author, poet, singer, songwriter, and actor. Biography Heller was born in Vienna into a wealthy Jewish family of sweets manuf ...

* 1983 "Maskerade“, operetta, libretto and text: Walter Reisch, music and musical direction:

Georg Kreisler Georg Kreisler (18 July 1922 – 22 November 2011) was an Austrian–American Viennese-language cabarettist, satirist, composer, and author. He was particularly popular in the 1950s and 1960s. From 2007 he lived in Salzburg, Austria, with his fo ...

, direction: Heinz Marecek * 1985 "Die Riesen vom Berge“ by

Luigi Pirandello Luigi Pirandello (; ; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italians, Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his bold and ...

, direction: Hans Gratzer * 1985 "Besuchszeit“ by Felix Mitterer * 1986 "Anima“ by Erwin Piplits * 1987 "Ajax“ by Sophokles, direction:

Peter Sellars Peter Sellars (born September 27, 1957) is an American theatre director, noted for his unique stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays. Sellars is a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he teaches ...

* 1990 "Don Giovanni“ by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, direction:

, musical direction:

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharm ...

, stage: Erich Wonder * 1993 "Les Atrides“ by and with

Théâtre du Soleil Le Théâtre du Soleil (, "The Theater of the Sun") is a Parisian avant-garde stage ensemble founded by Ariane Mnouchkine, Philippe Léotard and fellow students of the ''L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq'' in 1964 as a collective ...

, direction:

Ariane Mnouchkine Ariane Mnouchkine (; born 3 March 1939) is a French stage director. She founded the Parisian avant-garde stage ensemble '' Théâtre du Soleil'' in 1964. She wrote and directed ''1789'' (1974) and ''Molière'' (1978), and directed ''La Nuit Mira ...

* 1993 "The Cave“ by

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer best known as a pioneer of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, and canons. Reich descr ...

* 1994 "Kill Pig Devil Passion Finish God“, dance theatre by

Martin Kušej Martin Kušej (born 14 May 1961) is an Austrian theatre and opera director, and is director of the Burgtheater Vienna. According to German news magazine Focus, Kušej belongs to the ten most important theatre directors who have emerged in the G ...

* 1996 "Alma – A Show biz ans Ende“, direction:

Paulus Manker Paulus Manker (born 25 January 1958) is an Austrian film director and actor, as well as an author and screenplay writer. Manker is considered one of the most maverick German-speaking actors, and polarizes public opinion like scarcely no other. H ...

, with

Johanna Wokalek Johanna Wokalek (born 3 March 1975) is a German stage and film actress. A student of Klaus Maria Brandauer, she received critical recognition and three newcomer awards for her performance in the play '' Rose Bernd''. Wokalek is best known for he ...

* 1997 "Aus Deutschland“ by

Mauricio Kagel Mauricio Raúl Kagel (; 24 December 1931 – 18 September 2008) was an Argentine-German composer and academic teacher. Life and career Early life and education Mauricio Raúl Kagel was born on 24 December 1931 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, into an ...

, direction: Herbert Wernicke * 1998 "Figaro lässt sich scheiden“ by

Ödön von Horváth Edmund Josef von Horváth (9 December 1901 – 1 June 1938) was an Austro-Hungarian playwright and novelist who wrote in German, and went by the ''nom de plume'' Ödön von Horváth (). He was one of the most critically admired writers of his g ...

, direction: Luc Bondy, with Gert Voss, Paulus Manker, Erni Mangold, Gertraud Jesserer, Anne Tismer, Herbert Föttinger, Helmuth Lohner * 1999 "Bählamms Fest“ by

Olga Neuwirth Olga Neuwirth (; born 4 August 1968) is an Austrian contemporary classical composer, visual artist and author. She is famed especially for her operas and music theater works, many of which have treated sociopolitical themes. She has emphasized an ...

, musical direction: Johannes Kalitzke, direction: Nick Broadhurst * 2000 "Bitte liebt Österreich!“ by

Christoph Schlingensief Christoph Maria Schlingensief (24 October 1960 – 21 August 2010) was a German theatre director, performance artist, and filmmaker. Starting as an independent underground filmmaker, Schlingensief later staged productions for theatres and festiva ...

* 2001 "

Shockheaded Peter ''Der Struwwelpeter'' ('Shock-Headed Peter') is an 1845 German children's literature, children's book written and illustrated by Heinrich Hoffmann (author), Heinrich Hoffmann. It comprises ten illustrated and rhymed stories, mostly about childr ...

“ music and adaption:

Martyn Jacques Martyn Jacques (born 22 May 1959) is a British musician, singer and songwriter, mostly known as the founder and front man of cult British trio The Tiger Lillies. Life and career Martyn Jacques grew up in Slough. His song on the 1996 The Tig ...

, direction: Julian Crouch & Phelim McDermott * 2003 "Forever Young“ after

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...

’ "Sweet Bird of Youth“, adapted by

Frank Castorf Frank Castorf (born 17 July 1951 in East Berlin) is a German theater director and was the artistic director of the ''Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz'' from 1992 to 2015. His work is often associated with postdramatic theatre. Biography ...

* 2004 "

Cosi fan tutte COSI (), officially the Center of Science and Industry, is a science museum and research center in Columbus, Ohio. COSI was opened to the public on 29 March 1964 and remained there for 35 years. In 1999, COSI was moved to a facility, designed ...

" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, direction: Robert Lehmeier * 2005 "Schutz vor der Zukunft“ by

Christoph Marthaler Christoph Marthaler (17 October 1951) is a Swiss director and musician. Biography Born in Zurich, Marthaler initially studied music (recorder and oboe). At the end of the 1960s, he attended Jacques Lecoq's theatre school in Paris. Back in Sw ...

* 2006 "

Dido and Aeneas ''Dido and Aeneas'' (Z. 626) is an opera in a prologue and three acts, written by the English Baroque music, Baroque composer Henry Purcell with a libretto by Nahum Tate. The dates of the composition and first performance of the opera are uncer ...

“ by

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, Dido and Aeneas, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version o ...

, musical direction: William Christie, direction:

Deborah Warner Deborah Warner (born 12 May 1959) is a British director of theatre and opera, known for her interpretations of the works of Shakespeare, Bertolt Brecht, Benjamin Britten, and Henrik Ibsen, and for her collaborations with Irish actress Fiona ...

* 2006 "Claus Peymann kauft sich eine Hose und geht mit mir essen“ by

Thomas Bernhard Nicolaas Thomas Bernhard (; 9 February 1931 – 12 February 1989) was an Austrian novelist, playwright, poet and polemicist who is considered one of the most important German-language authors of the postwar era. He explored themes of death, iso ...

, direction: Claus Peymann * 2007 " König Lear“ by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, direction: Luc Bondy * 2007 " Aus einem Totenhaus“ by

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, Music theory, music theorist, Folkloristics, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian folk music, Moravian and other Slavs, Slavic music, includin ...

, musical direction:

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music. Born in Montb ...

, direction:

Patrice Chéreau Patrice Chéreau (; ; 2 November 1944 – 7 October 2013) was a French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor and producer. In France he is best known for his work for the theatre, internationally for his films '' La Reine Margot'' and ''I ...

* 2009 "Riesenbutzbach“ a project by Christoph Marthaler and Anna Viebrock, direction: Christoph Marthaler * 2009 "

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

“ by William Shakespeare, direction: Peter Sellars * 2014 "La Barque le soir" after Tarjei Vesaas, direction: Claude Régy * 2014 "

Orfeo ed Euridice (; French: '; English: ''Orpheus and Eurydice'') is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the '' azione teatrale'', meaning an ...

" by

Christoph Willibald Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; ; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period (music), classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of th ...

, direction:

Romeo Castellucci Romeo Castellucci (born August 4, 1960) is an Italian theatre director, playwright, artist and designer. Since the 1980s he has been one part of the European theatrical avant-garde. Biography Romeo Castellucci graduated with a degree in painti ...

, musical direction: Jérémie Rhorer * 2015 "

Luci mie traditrici ''Luci mie traditrici'' (My Traitorous Eyes) is an opera in two acts by Salvatore Sciarrino, who also wrote the libretto. It was first performed under the German title ''Die tödliche Blume'' (''The Deadly Flower'') on 19 May 1998 in the Schloss ...

" by

Salvatore Sciarrino Salvatore Sciarrino (born 4 April 1947) is an Italian composer of contemporary classical music. Described as "the best-known and most performed Italian composer" of the present day, his works include ''Quaderno di strada'' (2003) and ''La porta d ...

, musical direction: Emilio Pomàrico, direction:

Achim Freyer Achim Freyer (; born 30 March 1934) is a German stage director, set designer and painter. A protégé of Bertolt Brecht, Freyer has become one of the world's leading opera directors, working throughout Europe and, since 2002, in the United Stat ...

* 2016 "

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Opus number, Op. 72, is the sole opera by German composer Ludwig van Beethoven. The libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of ...

" by

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

, musical direction:

Marc Minkowski Marc Minkowski (born 4 October 1962) is a French conductor of classical music, especially known for his interpretations of French Baroque works. Minkowski was musical director of Mozartwoche in Salzburg, Austria, from 2013 to 2017 and was gene ...

, direction: Achim Freyer * 2016 "Wir Hunde / Us Dogs" by SIGNA * 2017 Hyperreality – Festival for Club Culture – Vienna, music festival curated by Marlene Engel * 2018 "Stadium" by Mohamed El Khatib * 2019 "3 Episodes of Life" by Markus Öhrn * 2019 "Diamante" by Mariano Pensotti * 2020 "Die Goldberg Variationen" by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

, choreography:

Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker Anne Teresa, Baroness De Keersmaeker (, born 1960 in Mechelen, Belgium, grew up in Wemmel) is a contemporary dance choreographer. The dance company constructed around her, , was in residence at La Monnaie in Brussels from 1992 to 2007. Biogra ...

, piano: Pavel Kolesnikov * 2021 "Catarina e a beleza de matar fascistas" by Tiago Rodrigues * 2022 "

Requiem A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is ...

" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, direction: Romeo Castellucci, musical direction: Raphaël Pichon * 2022 "

Einstein on the Beach ''Einstein on the Beach'' is an opera in four acts composed by Philip Glass with libretto in collaboration with Robert Wilson (director), Robert Wilson, who also designed and directed early productions. The opera eschews traditional narrative in ...

" by

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

, direction: Susanne Kennedy, Markus Selg, musical direction: André de Ridder * 2023 "

Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...

" by

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( ; ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...

, direction: Marlene Monteiro Freitas, musical direction: Maxime Pascal * 2023 "Pieces of a Woman" by Kata Wéber, direction:

Kornél Mundruczó Kornél Mundruczó (; born 3 April 1975) is a Hungarian film and theatre director. His 2014 film '' White God'' won the Prize at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. While '' Tender Son: The Frankenstein Project'' (2010) and '' Jupiter's Moon'' (2 ...

* 2024 "SANCTA" by

Florentina Holzinger Florentina Holzinger (born 1986) is an Austrian choreographer, director and performance artist. Her stage work involves nude all-female casts and sexual acts. She is based in the Netherlands. Early life Holzinger was born in Vienna in 1986, the ...

, musical direction: Marit Strindlund

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Festivals in Vienna Theatre festivals in Austria Festivals established in 1951 Arts festivals in Austria Cultural festivals in Austria Spring (season) in Austria 1951 establishments in Austria

Directors

History

Highlights

See also

References

External links