Mozart week canceled due to omicron – salzburg.ORF.at
Culture
The Mozart Week 2022 in Salzburg is now also falling victim to the CoV crisis. The globally important Mozart Festival, which should have taken place from January 27th to February 6th this year, has been cancelled.
“The situation in Salzburg has deteriorated dramatically and, after consultation with the responsible authorities, there is no improvement in sight,” says director Rolando Villazon.
“Unreasonable for everyone involved”
Holding on to this year’s festival with around 60 events at ten locations in Salzburg is unreasonable in all cases, explains Villazon, given the authorities’ assessment. “The health and safety of our artists, audience and staff must come first. It is with an immensely heavy heart that we are therefore forced to cancel the 2022 Mozart Week completely due to the pandemic.”
“CoV-Peak falls exactly in the festival week”
A festival of this magnitude with numerous artists, orchestras and ensembles as well as audiences from all over the world is not feasible given the current framework conditions and the lack of planning security. It was said that the peak number of CoV cases calculated by the Salzburg state government fell exactly during the festival week. Further short-term tightening such as travel restrictions or a reduction in room occupancy had to be expected.
“One fifth cases in all professions”
The health authority of the state of Salzburg estimates the relevant risk with an expected 15 to 20 percent absence in all professional sectors at the end of January 2022, which, according to the organizers, makes it simply impossible to hold the Mozart Week.
A postponement is not possible at a later date due to the long planned lead time and the unavailability of the main artists.
What’s next in 2023?
The program for the 2023 Mozart Week will be presented in May. The Mozart Week looks back on a long tradition. The Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation has been celebrating the birthday of the great composer in January with this festival since 1956. In 2021, the Mozart Week was held in a short digital version due to the pandemic.