Every year at Whitsun and in summer, the Salzburg Festival invites you to a cultural programme of the highest standard. In six festival weeks, more than 200 events take place, which are visited by around 250,000 guests every year. They are all offered the widest artistic programme in the world. Opera, drama and concerts are presented here by the world's most renowned artists. In addition to a top-class cultural programme, it is the special flair of the city and in particular the use of Salzburg's Hofstallgasse and the entire baroque old town as a backdrop for the Festival that creates an extraordinary atmosphere. In addition to the festivals at Easter and Whitsun, the summer festivals in July and August in particular provide evenings to dream about in glorious summer weather.

Festival full of highlights: A world-class programme

This year, the Salzburg Festival's major summer programme will take place from 20 July to 31 August 2023 and will offer breathtaking performances with an extraordinary opera programme of eight operas. The festival also awaits you in the drama programme with a total of six plays. In addition, numerous concerts, films and readings characterise this year's festival and ensure great diversity in the programme.

Thanks to the great selection of productions, there is sure to be something for every opera lover, theatre fan and music enthusiast. Romantik presents some highlights of this year's Salzburg Festival for you.

Highlights in the opera programme

The opera programme shines with numerous operas as well as concert performances. In particular, Mozart's opera Le Nozze di Figaro, Macbeth by Giuseppe Verdi and Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph Willibald Gluck are among the true audience magnets, along with other highlights.

Highlights in the drama programme

In 2023 Bettina Hering sets strong impulses as head of the drama department and presents, in addition to new productions, the revived Jedermann as well as drama research and readings.

JEDERMANN

With almost 800 performances in just under a century, director Michael Sturminger's play Jedermann is the classic at the annual Salzburg Festival. The play with its timeless theme about death, which can strike anyone at any time, is traditionally performed on Salzburg's Domplatz.

Highlights in the concert programme

The twelve concerts in the Salzburg Festival programme round off the multifaceted festival programme.

OUVERTURE SPIRITUELLE

This year, the Ouverture sprituelle is dedicated to the theme Lux Aeterna. A concert by the SWR Symphony Orchestra is also among the performances this year.

VIENNA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Within the framework of several concert cycles, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra offers spectacular concerts in its summer programme. This year, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra will thus once again be performing in its summer home, since 1925.

The perfect accommodation for the Salzburg Festival

During the Salzburg Festival, it is advisable to take advantage of the unique atmosphere of the city and to stay overnight close to the centre and in keeping with the occasion. As Austria's oldest family-run hotel, the Romantik Hotel Elixhauser Wirt invites you to a relaxing stay on the green outskirts of Salzburg, just 5 kilometres from the city centre. Thanks to the hotel's spacious wellness area, guests are offered a relaxing stay before as well as after the concerts. In the rooms lovingly furnished by the Gmachl family and in the romantic garden of the Romantik Hotel Elixhauser Wirt, guests can experience the idyllic village atmosphere and at the same time benefit from the proximity to the festival.

The Romantik Hotel Die Gersberg Alm is also an ideal place to stay during the Salzburg Festival. Only about 7 kilometres from the city centre, the hosts there warmly welcome their guests in elegant rooms. Guests are also treated to excellent regional and international cuisine. The well-stocked wine list with mostly Austrian quality wines rounds off the offer.