From 8 to 18 April, the Salzburg Easter Festival takes to the “stage of the world”, as Salzburg self-confidently sees itself. Orchestra and chamber concerts, the Choir Concert and the Concert for Salzburg are the highlights of this festival format founded by Herbert von Karajan every year.

Herbert von Karajan, a native of Salzburg and a world-class conductor, founded the Salzburg Easter Festival in 1967 as a supplement to the Salzburg Festival held in August. Karajan’s basic idea was the desire to further develop the festival idea in Salzburg. The Easter Festival developed an independent profile with first-class directors, top-class performers and lavish opera productions.

In 2022, the Salzburg Easter Festival will focus on Richard Wagner and his legendary Lohengrin. The title role will be sung by American tenor Eric Cutler; he will be joined as Elsa by soprano Jacquelyn Wagner, in 2019 the acclaimed Eva in the Meistersinger.

The Herbert von Karajan Prize will go to the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden in 2022. Founded in 1548, the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden is one of the oldest and most traditional orchestras in the world. Since its existence, important conductors have shaped the history of the former court orchestra. Among its leaders were Heinrich Schütz, Johann Adolf Hasse, Carl Maria von Weber and Richard Wagner, who called the orchestra his “miracle harp”. Richard Strauss was a friend of the Staatskapelle for more than sixty years. Nine of his operas, including “Salome”, “Elektra” and “Der Rosenkavalier” were premiered in Dresden. He dedicated his “Alpine Symphony”, which will be performed this year on 11 and 16 April under the artistic direction of Christian Thielemann, to the Staatskapelle Dresden. Since 2013, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden has been the orchestra in residence at the Salzburg Easter Festival.

The choral concert is dedicated to the work of Anton Bruckner and juxtaposes the unfinished Ninth Symphony with two sacred works. For this concert, the Bavarian Radio Choir makes a guest appearance.

At the concert for Salzburg, the Staatskapelle’s first guest conductor, the South Korean Myung-Whun Chung, will conduct, among other works, the Fourth Symphony by Johannes Brahms, whose death anniversary in 2022 is the 125th.

The Salzburg Easter Festival plays 5 event spaces in the festival district, including the Große Festspielhaus and the Große Saal der Stiftung Mozarteum.

Salzburg Easter Festival 8 – 18 April 2022

Click here for the 2024 Easter Festival..