The Salzburg Easter Festival has announced its 2027 edition, marking the event’s 60th anniversary while continuing its multi-year staging of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Kirill Petrenko.
At the centre of the programme is Die Walküre, the second instalment of the new Ring cycle launched in 2026. The production, directed by Kirill Serebrennikov, will feature Lise Davidsen in her first international performances as Brünnhilde, following her recent debut as Isolde at the Gran Teatre del Liceu and the Metropolitan Opera, alongside Christopher Maltman as Wotan.
The announcement comes just days before the Berlin Philharmonic returns to Salzburg in 2026 to begin the project with Das Rheingold, opening a cycle planned over several years.
A new chapter of the Ring
The 2027 Walküre continues a project that marks the orchestra’s return to Salzburg after more than a decade in Baden-Baden. Petrenko, who has conducted the Ring at Bayreuth, the Bavarian State Opera and earlier in his career, leads the new production across multiple seasons.
Serebrennikov’s staging expands Wagner’s narrative beyond its traditional European framework, following a concept introduced in Das Rheingold and further developed in Die Walküre. The cast brings together both established Wagner singers and a younger generation, including Jamez McCorkle (Siegmund), Christina Nilsson (Sieglinde) and Catriona Morison (Fricka).
Concerts in the 2027 edition
In the 2027 edition, alongside the staged performances, Petrenko will conduct Beethoven’s Missa solemnis with the Rundfunkchor Berlin, returning a work that has historical significance for the festival since its early years.
The concert programme also features:
- Martha Argerich performing Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 under Lahav Shani
- Emmanuelle Haïm leading Handel’s Messiah with her ensemble Concert d’Astrée
Additional chamber concerts and late-night events with members of the Berliner Philharmoniker are expected to be announced at a later stage.
Anniversary edition
Founded in 1967 by Herbert von Karajan, the Salzburg Easter Festival reaches its 60th anniversary in 2027. The continuation of the Ring cycle forms the central artistic thread of the celebrations, linking the festival’s history with its current direction under Petrenko and Intendant Nikolaus Bachler.
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