Salzburg Festival
Salzburg Festival
4.5
About
With a quarter of a million descending on the city of Mozart, the Salzburger Festspiele is the biggest cultural event in Austria and celebrates a summer of concerts and theatre. With around 220 musical events at 14 venues around the city, the 2016 festival runs from late July through August and premieres works by four composers, offers opera performances for kids, produces first-class drama from Beckett and Shakespeare, and has a full schedule of inspiring music from philharmonic and chamber orchestras.
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4.5
68 reviews
Excellent
44
Very good
15
Average
1
Poor
0
Terrible
8
Dave_PE54
Chicago, IL76 contributions
Aug 2022
The Festival is so diverse in programs and venues, any broad review really doesn't give it justice. Suffice it to say from the online ticket ordering process to the individual experiences, everything came together nicely. For me, it was The Magic Flute opera at the Haus fur Mozart, a concert by the Vienna Philharmonic at the Grosses Festspielhaus, and a chamber concert at the Mozarteum Grosser Saal. The acoustics everywhere were amazing. Sightlines were good. German and English programs were available at each event for a small fee. Ushers and other attendants all could offer assistance in English. Security was clearly evident everywhere. My only critique would be the uncomfortable seats in the balcony at the Grosses Festspeilhaus. For Germans and other Europeans, this can be an annual summer pleasure. For those of us from abroad, this is an incredibly worthwhile "bucket list" experience.
Written 9 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gianluca Z
9 contributions
Aug 2024 • Couples
Salzburg Festival would deserve full marks for quality of performances and atmosphere. I have been visiting for 30 years and never fails to fascinate. In recent years my experience has been impacted by the lack of air conditioning in the venues. Climate changed and the organisers didn’t put any mitigating actions in place. This year lots of people changed their dress code and even so most people struggled. You can barely enjoy an opera, concert or theatre while humidity and 30 degrees make your indoor evening a torture for which you paid a certainly not cheap ticket.
Written 30 August 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
krenno2
Chicago, IL399 contributions
Jul 2017 • Friends
As a tourist who just happened to be here during the summer festival (last weekend of July it started) I was so happy to get to listen to some quality music for free. I assumed it would be classical music, and boy was I wrong. There seem's to be something for everyone, locals, tourists, music lovers, etc. It is amazing to see performance taking place so naturally amongst squares, gardens, and plazas. What a wonderful festival and something I wish I knew more about in terms of cultural significance and history.
Written 14 August 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
gritsgal98
Maryland22 contributions
Aug 2015 • Family
This was my first trip back to Salzburg since I was in college and it is still as beautiful as I remembered. As a musician and Mozart fan, this city has the culture of Vienna, without the stuffiness. We were there at the end of the famous Salzburg Festival and got to see open air opera shown on the side of the cathedral at night. We walked the streets in the morning and late into the night. There is a great variety of food all over Salzburg-from NY style pizza, gourmet hamburgers (served with sweet potato fries!), traditional Bavarian food..but best of all of late night dessert along the Salz River al fresco at Hotel Sacher..home of the famous Sacher Torte.
Written 8 September 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
sylviascolon
Pembroke Pines, FL3 contributions
Jul 2019
Great experience. We knew when we were traveling to Salzburg, that the Music Festival was a must do. We chose an event at random based on the day we were there, and it was beautiful.
Written 9 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
mariemacLiverpool
Liverpool, UK135 contributions
Aug 2015 • Couples
The old town is quaint with a lot to do. It resembles many other old European towns with narrow streets opening out onto wide squares. Many places to visit, lots of museums and of course Mozart woz ere! You could be forgiven for thinking he was a chocolatier rather than a famous composer. Many places to eat and drink but some do not serve throughout the day. You can hire a horse and carriage to drive around for 40 euros. With so many things to do it is worth buying a museum pass research this or go and visit tourist information. We stayed overnight and struggled to do everything. It is very easy to get around and a bit cooler on the days we visited but it is packed and touristy. Worth a visit just to tick off your list. On the other hand if you are into your classical music this will be for you. Finally in August the Salzburg festival is on but if you haven't got 500 euros for a tickets there are many free concerts taking place this month.
Written 20 August 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
hj012
New York City, NY22 contributions
Aug 2016 • Family
Really an unforgettable event. Everyone dresses up for the opera, some in tuxes, formal evening wear and traditional Austrian dresses. The singing is outstanding and the staging surprising and new.
Mostly adults. My 14 year old daughter was the only child I saw there but even she thought the production was interesting (even though she is not an opera fan YET!!!)
Opera in Salzburg is not cheap and you have to order the tickets well in advance but it is truly an EVENT.
Mostly adults. My 14 year old daughter was the only child I saw there but even she thought the production was interesting (even though she is not an opera fan YET!!!)
Opera in Salzburg is not cheap and you have to order the tickets well in advance but it is truly an EVENT.
Written 24 August 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nathan V
Worthing, UK206 contributions
Aug 2015
The old town is one of the main reasons to visit Salzburg. It is quite small and easily traversed within a day, however it should be thoroughly explored. There are surprises around every corner and street. If you want to try a Mozart Ball, be sure not to be drawn in by the cheap touristy versions but find Fürst chocolates - a small shop near the main market square. Be sure to check out the market when it is on and swing by Mozart's birth house (easily identifiable by the tourists surrounding it). In summer, the Salzburg festival is a must and a free video concert is shown every night in summer consisting of some of the best opera's and concerts at the festival over the years. This is well worth a visit as the setting is simply remarkable.
Written 5 November 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rowan R Cortona
Cortona, Italy287 contributions
Aug 2024 • Friends
We attended the Festival for a second time this week ( the first visit was 10 years ago). We enjoyed 3 outstanding musical events , as well as being in a lovely and quite sophisticated city for 5 days with friends.
Don Giovanni , a revival of the 2021 production by Romeo Castelucci, was fantastic. As the NYT said of its first appearance at Salzburg: it’s Whip, catapult, bang effect - these are words that come to mind when you think of this production.
There is so much symbolism throughout the production, one gets to the stage of thinking - that’s odd or that’s funny but I don’t really know ( or , perhaps,care) what it means.
Consistently with the theme of the festival, the Don is deviant,remorseless and against the norm ( see The Idiot by Dostoevsky)
The singing is great- particularly Davide Luciano as the Don and Federica Lombardi as Donna Elvira
A wonderful production of our favourite opera. We were blown away.
Concert : Fantasia e Sonata : Andras Schiff- What a night of superb piano playing. Andras took us from Bach ( Unquestionably, the greatest composer of all time he said) to Mozart, Hayden to Beethoven to Mendelson to Schumann in each case focusing on piano fantasia and between pieces ( mainly speaking in German) giving commentary on the progression of the fantasia from Bach to Schumann and some politics - one can’t have freedom without order and the break down of order undermines democracy
And to apologise for 90% of his commentary being in German “ Well what do we do with you English speakers - well you have to learn German!!”
Hamlet This was a concert performance. Music we do not know and it was overwhelmingly good.
Ambroise Thomas’ music is strong and brilliant and our lead singers Stefan Degout as Hamlet ( French) and Lisette Orepresa as Orphilia ( American) were truly outstanding.
The orchestra and choir were very large and were well controlled by Bertrand de Billy. We had great seats Row 3 Stalls - Wow!!!
Overall 3 of the best musical events we have ever been privileged to have witnessed.
Don Giovanni , a revival of the 2021 production by Romeo Castelucci, was fantastic. As the NYT said of its first appearance at Salzburg: it’s Whip, catapult, bang effect - these are words that come to mind when you think of this production.
There is so much symbolism throughout the production, one gets to the stage of thinking - that’s odd or that’s funny but I don’t really know ( or , perhaps,care) what it means.
Consistently with the theme of the festival, the Don is deviant,remorseless and against the norm ( see The Idiot by Dostoevsky)
The singing is great- particularly Davide Luciano as the Don and Federica Lombardi as Donna Elvira
A wonderful production of our favourite opera. We were blown away.
Concert : Fantasia e Sonata : Andras Schiff- What a night of superb piano playing. Andras took us from Bach ( Unquestionably, the greatest composer of all time he said) to Mozart, Hayden to Beethoven to Mendelson to Schumann in each case focusing on piano fantasia and between pieces ( mainly speaking in German) giving commentary on the progression of the fantasia from Bach to Schumann and some politics - one can’t have freedom without order and the break down of order undermines democracy
And to apologise for 90% of his commentary being in German “ Well what do we do with you English speakers - well you have to learn German!!”
Hamlet This was a concert performance. Music we do not know and it was overwhelmingly good.
Ambroise Thomas’ music is strong and brilliant and our lead singers Stefan Degout as Hamlet ( French) and Lisette Orepresa as Orphilia ( American) were truly outstanding.
The orchestra and choir were very large and were well controlled by Bertrand de Billy. We had great seats Row 3 Stalls - Wow!!!
Overall 3 of the best musical events we have ever been privileged to have witnessed.
Written 26 August 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hallgren_Nykvarn
Stockholm, Sweden190 contributions
Dec 2018 • Family
As Sound of Music fans, we took the SoM panorama bus tour and visited all the locations used by the film. Festival Halls was one of them but we had a separate tour of the facilities which is included in the Salzburg Card. These halls are the main stages for the world-famous Salzburg Festival, which attracts the rich and beautiful from all countries during summer and Easter. We visited the 3 halls: the House for Mozart Hall (formerly the small festival hall), the Large/Great Festival Hall (Festspielhaus), and the Summer Riding School, which is the hall used for Sound of Music; We also visited the Winter Riding School. All of them were very beautiful and very different from each other in terms of capacity, use, and appearance. The Great Festival Hall is definitely a big one - it can host up to 2170 people. We like the Summer Riding School ( Felsenreitschule ) most. This is the stage on which the Trapps performed during the Salzburg Festival and Georg von Trapp sings "Edelweiss".. The Felsenreitschule consists of little niches and arcades that were cut into the walls of the Mönchsberg mountain. The stage was like a small replica of the Coliseum in Rome. We tried to explore the cubicles and imagine singing on the stage like the family Von Trapp Singers, The tour started outside Mozart Hall where the guide spoke first in German, then in English. It continued like that for all the Halls. So English group gets to explore while German group listens, and vice versa. We also went into the back stage of the biggest hall which goes as deep into the mountain wall up to 100meters. and around 37 meters wide.It was a good tour. The guide was very knowledgeable but we felt that he told more in German than when he spoke in English.
Written 20 January 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I applied for tickets before the deadline. Some of the shows were still taking bookings up to yesterday but now are listed as sold out. Does that mean I will be allocated tickets or are they working their way through orders and could it be that the shows are now sold out before my order has been processed. I emailed them but they basically wouldn’t answer the question beyond saying I would find out in March. Any help appreciated.
Written 30 January 2019
Πως μπορεί κάποιος να λάβει μέρος σαν καλλιτέχνης ζωγραφος
Written 4 December 2018
Is White tie appropriate attire for Mozart's
Die Zaiberflote during the Salzburg Music Festival?
Written 19 June 2018
I will be attending Mozarts opera during the Salsburg festival. I was to wear a tuxedo perferably White tie. Is that accurate?
Did you see many people in white tie?
Written 19 June 2018
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