Salzburg Festival: No puppy protection for the new President Kristina Hammer
The day of the “Jedermann” premiere last Monday was probably the foretaste of what to expect for the first time this summer: crowds in front of the cathedral square, paparazzi, who first pushed them together with their husband and daughter for representative photos, then with the mayor of Salzburg and other local celebrities. And then there must be another one with the actor Philipp Hochmair, who, after the announced departure of Lars Eidinger, can now be traded again as a candidate for the title role in 2023.
It’s the usual hype at the Salzburg Festival, but it’s also Kristina Hammer’s first season as President. In November of the previous year, a selection committee – quite surprisingly – chose her as the successor to Helga Rabl-Stadler, who had headed the festival for 27 years. Outsider candidate Hammer, who was born in Karlsruhe, had previously worked as a marketing expert in Switzerland, including for luxury cars. So she is not a proven cultural expert, but when Rabl-Stadler took office in 1995, she was just as little. And Hammer can at least refer to a long festival history: Even as a child, she and her parents watched Karajan conduct here and witnessed the debut of Anne-Sophie Mutter: That shaped her, she says.
Despite this character, the job will probably not be easy, even if the new president has recently been able to look forward to almost pre-pandemic pre-sale records: the tickets are selling as quickly as in 2019. Apparently, the hangover that can be heard elsewhere about declining visits to Salzburg is not an issue: that Thanks in part to the “excellent prevention concept” in the two years of the pandemic, the festival “was able to inspire and keep its regular audience” believes Hammer. In fact, the program of the festival, which officially opens on Tuesday, is as attractive as ever – big names shine as usual: Asmik Grigorian, Cecilia Bartoli, Piotr Beczala, Teodor Currentzis, Romeo Castellucci, Shirin Neshat and many more.
Disputes about artist engagements, sponsorship contracts
Is it all pure bliss for Kristina Hammer? Probably not quite yet. Even if sales are going well, it remains to be seen whether the international public will find their way back to the Salzach permanently, even beyond its German neighbors. There was a dispute not only about the commitments of artists who did not (or not clearly enough) comment on the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. Public criticism flares up again and again because of sponsorship agreements with companies such as the Swiss Solway group (which has since ended with some fanfare) and cooperation with companies that are said to have a affinity with Russia. Renewing the sponsor network should not pose a great problem for the internationally well-connected new president with marketing expertise. But as president, Hammer must of course also take on the political subsidy providers for the traditional festival. After all, a budget of 65.5 million euros has to be maintained for the six weeks of the festival and a good 200 opera, theater and concert events. The festival noticed the price increases all around quite clearly: “Not only the increase in energy costs is hitting us hard, but also the general inflation,” Hammer worries. In order to accommodate the audience, “we quickly sell 50 percent of our tickets between 5 and 115 euros and have deliberately not planned to increase the price this year.”
Of course, such assurances have to be seen in context: Opera tickets that are still available in the best category cost 455 euros for “Herzog Blaubart”, “Il Trittico”, “Die Zauberflöte” and “Aida”. In any case, the new president works well together with finance director Lukas Crepaz and artistic director Markus Hinterhäuser in the three-person board of directors, she believes: “We have found a clear division of tasks and a good way of making joint decisions in an open manner,” said she recently in an interview with the Austria Press Agency.
Hinterhäuser’s first interim report sounds more restrained. “I think we all need a little more time,” the director, who was not involved in the appointment of the new president, recently stated: “You can’t believe Helga Rabl-Stadler’s 27-year presidency, which was really great Easily manageable one day at a time. Nobody can do that. New things need time to settle in, time for a shared self-image.” Rabl-Stadler’s era was not least marked by legendary skirmishes between her and the artistic directors Gerard Mortier and Alexander Pereira. How the relationship between Hammer and Hinterhäuser will develop still seems quite open. Both contracts run until 2026, so they will have to get together anyway. Also in the service of an overarching mega-project: In Salzburg, the renovation of the festival halls is pending – 300 million euros are currently estimated. Construction is scheduled to start in 2024 and open in 2030.