The Salzburg Festival has announced the programme for its 2026 summer edition, which will run from 17 July to 30 August and present a wide range of opera and concert events. The season is shaped by an overarching reflection on time, perception and the complexity of human relationships — themes introduced in the Festival’s official foreword, which frames the works of the season as explorations of identity, love, encounters with the “Other”, and the search for meaning through art.
Opera productions
The 2026 programme offers a strong opera lineup with several notable new stagings.
Carmen — Bizet
A new production at the Grosses Festspielhaus brings together Teodor Currentzis and director-choreographer Gabriela Carrizo (Peeping Tom). Asmik Grigorian stars in the title role, with Jonathan Tetelman as Don José and Kristina Mkhitaryan as Micaëla. The staging is expected to focus closely on the psychological and physical dimensions of the work.
Ariadne auf Naxos — Richard Strauss
Manfred Honeck conducts a new production by Ersan Mondtag at the Haus für Mozart. The cast includes Elīna Garanča as Ariadne, Eric Cutler as Bacchus and Kate Lindsey as the Komponist. The concept reimagines Hofmannsthal and Strauss’s opera within a contemporary setting while preserving its characteristic blend of high art, comedy and meta-theatrical reflection.
Saint François d’Assise — Olivier Messiaen
Romeo Castellucci returns to Salzburg with a new staging of Messiaen’s monumental opera, conducted by Maxime Pascal. Philippe Sly makes his debut in the title role, joined by Lauranne Oliva as L’Ange. The production engages with the work’s spiritual and philosophical scope, marking the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis.
Il viaggio a Reims — Rossini
A Salzburg premiere directed by Barrie Kosky and conducted by Gianluca Capuano, featuring Cecilia Bartoli, Marina Viotti, Mélissa Petit, Edgardo Rocha and Ildebrando D’Arcangelo, with Les Musiciens du Prince – Monaco. A gala performance in August will be followed by a celebration in honour of Bartoli.
Così fan tutte — Mozart
Joana Mallwitz conducts an expanded revival of Christof Loy’s staging. The cast features Elsa Dreisig (Fiordiligi), Victoria Karkacheva (Dorabella), Andrè Schuen (Guglielmo), Bogdan Volkov (Ferrando), Lea Desandre (Despina) and Johannes Martin Kränzle (Don Alfonso). The production continues to explore the opera’s interplay between experiment, desire and emotional discovery.
Other titles
The operatic offering also includes Pascal Dusapin’s Passion in concert form, Massenet’s Werther, Mozart’s Lucio Silla and Hans Werner Henze’s Der Prinz von Homburg.
Concerts and Ouverture spirituelle
The concert programme will again feature the Festival’s resident orchestras, guest ensembles and leading soloists. The Ouverture spirituelle adopts “Miserere” as its thematic anchor, continuing its exploration of spiritual repertoire and the ways in which music reflects collective and individual experience.
More info, here .
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