Salzburg Festival

Name: Salzburg Festival
Start: 2027-05-14
End: 2027-05-17
Location: Salzburg, Austria

萨尔茨堡音乐节 · Salzburg, Austria

Photo: Leonhard Lenz · CC0

Every summer Mozart's home town hosts a world-class festival whose operas, concerts and open-air Jedermann on Cathedral Square draw music lovers from everywhere; the 2027 Summer Festival runs from 16 July to 29 August.

Know before you go

Taking photos or videos during performances
forcing your way to your seat after arriving late
talking loudly

Stories & people

History

Jedermann opens the festival in front of the cathedral

On 22 August 1920 the Salzburg Festival opened with Hofmannsthal's Jedermann, performed on the steps in front of the cathedral and directed by Reinhardt. This morality play about a rich man facing death has been a fixture of the festival ever since and is still staged on Cathedral Square every summer.

Source: Wikipedia: Salzburg Festival

Culture

Culture & customs

Background

The Salzburg Festival was founded in 1920 by the playwright Hugo von Hofmannsthal, the composer Richard Strauss, the director Max Reinhardt and others. On 22 August that year Hofmannsthal's morality play Jedermann was performed in front of the cathedral to open the festival; it has been the festival's signature play ever since and is still staged in the open air on Cathedral Square. The main venues of the Summer Festival are the festival theatres at the edge of the old town: the Großes Festspielhaus, the Haus für Mozart and the Felsenreitschule, carved into the rock of the Mönchsberg. The programme spans opera, symphony concerts, drama and Mozart programmes, and every Whitsun weekend there is also the smaller Whitsun Festival.

Local customs

See Jedermann performed in the open air on Cathedral Square
enjoy opera and symphony concerts at the Großes Festspielhaus, the Haus für Mozart and the Felsenreitschule
attend a Mozart programme
take in the concerts and street atmosphere of the old town during the festival.

Etiquette & taboos

Don’t DON'T

Taking photos or videos during performances
forcing your way to your seat after arriving late
talking loudly

Locals appreciate DO

Arrive early
take your ticketed seat
stay quiet during performances and switch off your phone

Plan your visit

Practical info

2027 dates	May 14 – 17, 2027

Travel tips

The Summer Festival takes place every July and August and the Whitsun Festival over the Whitsun weekend, with dates announced each year on the festival website
programmes and tickets are subject to official announcement, and popular performances should be booked early. The festival theatres and Cathedral Square are all in Salzburg's old town within walking distance of each other, and buses run from the main railway station to the old town.