Bregenz 2025: Oedipus premiere in the shadow of great subsidies of subsidy!

Bregenz 2025: Oedipus premiere in the shadow of great subsidies of subsidy!

The Bregenz Festival is facing an exciting summer of 2025, which initiates the first season of the new director Lilli Paasikivi. Paasikivi selected the staging of George Enescu's "œdipe", which celebrates its premiere on July 16, 2025. This opera, which was based on the ancient dramas of Sophocles and premiered in Paris in 1936, deals with the tragic history of Oedipus, which cannot escape its inevitable fate.

directed by Andreas Kriegenburg, which is known for his innovative theater staging, the performance of each of the four acts is assigned their own color or mood. Elements such as fire, water, wood, fog and earth are used for the fascinating stage design. Kriegenburg emphasizes how important it is that the actors show vulnerability and dangerous emotions, while he also emphasizes the responsibility of the current generations for future.

Important details about staging

The musical direction lies in the hands of Finnish conductor Hannu Lintu, who describes the composition as uniquely. For the singers, the bass baritone Paul Gay is very enthusiastic about his role as Oedipus: he describes it as the role of his life, which requires several singing styles. The opera is performed on Lake Constance over a period of two years, which creates a traditionally impressive backdrop for the festival.

• Premiere of "œdipe": July 16, 2025
• More productions until August 17: "La Cenerentola", "Borrowed Light", "Study for Life" and "Emily - No Prisoner Be"
• First opera production by Paasikivi on the seaside stage, Verdi's "La Traviata" 2026 will be

In search of the artistic change, the predecessor of Paasikivi, Elisabeth Sobotka, selected “Der Freischütz” by Carl Maria von Weber last season. The direction takes over Philipp Stölzl, who plans to change the women's figures in the opera and introduce new speech passages.

financial challenges for the festival

Despite the great artistic plans, the Bregenz Festival faces significant financial challenges. The household budget has already drastically reduced a return of the subsidies by 30 percent, so that the festival has 2.1 million euros less. These cuts were perceived by the Festival President Hans-Peter Metzler as punishing for good business. The loss of purchasing power is an additional 4.2 million euros per year, which further burdens the situation.

In order to counteract this, the Vienna Burgtheater was no longer committed and important investments were postponed. The Bregenz Festival launched 220,000 tickets for the upcoming season, with 80 percent of the tickets for "Der Freischütz" sold out. These changes and challenges force the festival to reconsider their strategic course.

The audience can still look forward to an exciting festival program that includes tradition and new interpretations.

Further information on the Bregenz Festival can be found on Kleine Zeitung , Dietrich Kultur and ORF Vorarlberg .