Salzburg Festival: history and repertoire, 1922-26 lists all opera productions of the Salzburg Festival in its founding years.
Salzburg Festival: history and repertoire, 1922-26 lists all opera productions of the Salzburg Festival in its founding years.
The first Salzburg Festival took place in 1920 — without operas although all concepts for the festival included operas as a main part of the endeavor. The first festival consisted of open air performances of the drama Jedermann [Everyman] by Austrian poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal who wrote several librettos for operas by Richard Strauss. The play was performed at the grand square in front of the Salzburg Cathedral. The play describes the life and death of a rich man and is based on several medieval mystery plays. Jedermann was directed by world-famous Max Reinhardt and was a stunning success. The play is still today performed every year at the same place. [1] [2]
In 1921, concerts were added to the festival program. Concerts of the world's best orchestras, singers and soloists still today represent an important pillar of Salzburg Festival. In 1922, Richard Strauss and Franz Schalk brought opera to the festival. Both were famous conductors and since 1919 functioned also as general managers of Vienna State Opera. They chose four works of Salzburg born genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart for the first season — the three Da Ponte operas and Die Entführung aus dem Serail [The Abduction from the Seraglio]. In the founding years the festival did not have the means to produce entire opera productions. So Strauss and Schalk brought the settings, the singers, the orchestra and the chorus from Vienna State Opera to Salzburg. The press critically noted that the opera program of the festival constituted ″the summer residence of Vienna State Opera″. [3] Nevertheless, the performances were superb due to the orchestra, the chorus and the great singers. They came from all over Europa and created excellent ensembles for the Mozart operas, later on also for works by Donizetti, Johann Strauß and Richard Strauss. An important role was also given to set designer Alfred Roller who dominated the visual aspect of the first Salzburg Festival opera performances. [4]
All performances listed took place at the Salzburger Stadttheater.
Cast changes in repeat performances:
In 1923 there were no operatic performances at the Salzburg Festival. In 1924, the Festival had to be suspended due to an economic crisis in Austria.
| Orchestra, Choir, Conductor | Director, Set Designer | Female singers | Male singers | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don Giovanni by Lorenzo Da Ponte and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, August 24 and 28, 1925 (two performances) | ||||||||
| Wiener Philharmoniker Wiener Staatsopernchor Karl Muck | Hans Breuer Alfred Roller settings | Helene Wildbrunn Donna Anna Claire Born Donna Elvira Lotte Schöne Zerlina | Alfred Jerger Don Giovanni Richard Mayr Leporello Franz Markhoff Der Komtur Hermann Gallos Don Ottavio Viktor Madin Masetto | |||||
| Le nozze di Figaro by Lorenzo Da Ponte and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, August 25 to 30, 1925 (three performances) | ||||||||
| Wiener Philharmoniker Wiener Staatsopernchor Franz Schalk | Hans Breuer Alfred Roller settings | Claire Born Gräfin Almaviva Lotte Schöne Susanne Hermine Kittel Marcellina Rosette Anday Cherubino Paula von Hentke Barbarina | Karl Renner Graf Almaviva Alfred Jerger Figaro Hans Breuer Basilio Franz Markhoff Bartolo Viktor Madin Antonio Hermann Gallos Don Curzio | |||||
| Don Pasquale by Giovanni Ruffini and Gaetano Donizetti, August 26 and 29, 1925 (two performances) | ||||||||
| Wiener Philharmoniker Wiener Staatsopernchor Bruno Walter | Hans Breuer | Maria Ivogün Norina | Richard Mayr Don Pasquale Hermann Wiedemann Malatesta Karl Erb Ernesto Viktor Madin Notar | |||||
Cast change in repeat performances:
Cast changes in repeat performances:
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