Season 2022: These were the highlights in Salzburg – Salzburg Festival 2022
If you look at the accesses of the audience of ORF.at, the political issue of the Salzburg Festival was probably the most interesting. How would the festival fare, after all in 1920 in the hours of greatest material need and with a war in more than vivid memories? Who performed, and whether Teodor Currentzis or not, was discussed indecisively in the run-up – and not discovered by the festival management without a certain nervous tension. Before festival director Markus Hinterhäuser had his favorite conductor fired, he would probably prefer to cancel the event if one could presumably summarize his mood.
One million views
The audience accessed the Salzburg Festival Channel more than a million times this year. The opening speech by Ilja Trojanow, “Jedermann” and Schnitzler’s “Reigen” were the audience’s top three.
“Liars and hypocrites are not only found in Russia, they also exist in Austria, the hand-holders” – Trojanow recalled this in his impressive speech at the opening of the Salzburg Festival. Greed also connects former politicians and others more to the logic of war. It is also not legitimate to rob a bank because you are using the stolen money to perform “Fidelio”, according to his criticism of “naïve cultural sponsorship” – more on this in “The hand-holders are also sitting in Austria”. In any case, the head of the festival himself was committed to this keynote speaker, showing that in Salzburg they at least do not shy away from uncomfortable discourse.
“Kat’a Kabanova” as production of the summer
In the artistic field, an event ignited this year that perhaps not everyone had on the cheat sheet as artistic number one. Because it wasn’t the great burning of material by Romeo Castellucci on Bela Bartok’s “Bluebeard’s Castle” and Carl Orff’s “De temporum fine comoedia” together with a now established Ausrine Stundyte that made the sparks fly, but great craftsmanship in the combination of director Barry Kosky and the festival debutant Jakub Hrusa at the podium. Leos Janacek’s “Kat’a Kabanova” in the more than difficult Felsenreitschule became the opera masterpiece of the summer. And Winters as Kat’a, the prima donna of the festival season – more about that in “Kat’a Kabanova” as an opera masterpiece.
Suppressed moment of glory
Asmik Grigorian was not left behind this year, as she gave three major performances in Giacomo Puccini’s opera “Il Trittico”. Putting “Suor Angelica” alone at the end of this opera triptych does not exactly prove to be a dramaturgical stroke of luck when the nun has to step into the little black dress in the end to stand out from the ranks of the nuns. Musically, the opera was performed at the highest level under Franz Welser-Möst, but Christof Loy’s directorial work did not live up to the expectations that one could have after the announcements – more on this in Grigorian’s Ascension with Tschick.
Eidinger, the Redeemer
In the theater, the reactions of audiences and critics were more widespread than they had been for a long time. The pop culture revamped “Jedermann” with Lars Eidinger and Verena Altenberger was a magnet for new layers, even with the slight revision of a permanent bench and also in the second year of this couple. Just because of Eidinger’s announcement that he does not want to continue, a new Everyman-Paramour couple is in question for the coming year.
Anyway, you now have enough Eidinger overkill in Salzburg behind you. And under his permanent exposure between cathedral square, galleries and DJ desk, the star actor seemed to be struggling the most in the end. With him, the noble proceeds have of course raised a fresh patina – more on that in What then, “Everyman”?.
In Hallein we go to Ingoldstadt
As expected, there was little salvation on Perner Island with Marieluise Fleißer’s combination play “Ingolstadt”, which star director Ivo van Hove had prepared from two of the author’s works, unfortunately with little benefit for the theater evening. It is possible that the version in the Burgtheater, where “Ingolstadt” will be shown from autumn, will be sharpened. In any case, the premiere was overshadowed by numerous Covid cases, so that one could certainly not assume a fully mature implementation at the premiere – more on this in Weltenbrand and Last Judgment.
Around 40,000 visitors at festival nights
The Festival Nights in the old town of Salzburg come to an end on Sunday evening. This summer, a total of around 40,000 visitors came to the open-air broadcasts of festival operas on Kapitelplatz.
Criticism was divided on the implementation of Arthur Schnitzler’s “Reigen” in Salzburg and also on the processing of the “Iphigenia” material. In some cases, audience opinions on the adaptations by the Schauspielhaus Zürich (Schnitzler) and Thalia Theater (“Iphigenia”) differ greatly. The “Reigen” was published quite freely in the present with ten new texts (Schnitzler and the “Puderantes”). succeeded precisely through great acting performance, one only needs to think of Sibylle Canonica’s performances, and great craftsmanship a more than convincing evening.
And the purists may not have liked the fact that “Iphigenia” can be seen in a new light – actually, this finale on the Perner Island was a more than clear pointer in the direction of a theater, as has been the case for some time, at least on the big stages in Austria Time Missing time – more on that in In fins against the family curse.
“Crazy for Consolation” – the drama highlight
If there were to be such a thing as a main theme on stage, it would have to be “how to be alive properly”. The world premiere of “Crazy for Consolation” was the firework display at the festival. Thorsten Lensing’s funny-melancholic, sometimes absurd episodic piece became a chest full of treasures of thoughts – it is lifted and carried by a grandiose ensemble of four: Sebastian Blomberg, Andre Jung, Ursina Lardi and Devid Striesow – more about this in A redeeming spectacle.
A rescued “Magic Flute”
Mann in Salzburg finally saved Lydia Steier’s “Magic Flute” with Joana Malwitz on the podium this year – more on that in “The Magic Flute” ignites the second time. The relocation of this work from 2018 to the Haus für Mozart brought more playfulness – and also an opera that probably brought the empire of Sarastro into the politics of the present. When trying to revive Shirin Neshat’s “Aida”, the critics were relatively certain: this production by an artist who is so alien to opera remains alien to the genre.
If you look at the interest of the ORF.at audience, then this year it was not “Jedermann” that was the number one viewing quota, but the opening event in times of war and difficult discourses. In third place in the audience’s favor: the criticism of Schnitzler’s “Reigen”.