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The Bregenz Festival is a performing arts festival which is held every July and August in Bregenz, in Vorarlberg (Austria). It features a large floating stage which is situated on Lake Constance. Said stage is legendary for having some of the most elaborate, creative, and outlandish set designs out there. Last year, the festival celebrated its 75th anniversary.
I remember first becoming aware of the Bregenz Festival through word of mouth many years ago, when I attended the Zurich University of the Arts. My colleagues were raving about the artistic set designs they had seen.
Back then, in the 1990ies, the Internet wasn’t available yet as it is today, and I was a poor student with no money to go anywhere. So, it took at least another 10 years before I was finally able to see some photos online and then go to have a look in real life, myself.
The Bregenz Festival became an international event in its first year. In 1946, just one year after the end of World War II.
Having said international, at first there were visitors from only three countries: Germany, Switzerland, and France.
Two stages were created out of floating barges. One barge for the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and the other barge for carrying the stage structures.
The Vienna Symphony Orchestra is the biggest contributor to the festival. Since the beginning of the Bregenz Festival, the orchestra always has a performance spot.
They continue having their own stage area as well as other venues thorough out the festival.
Every year, the orchestra has a different conductor for each piece. Because every performance is tied very exclusively to each specific conductor and his personal style.
In 2001, the festival created a handful of contemporary arts events to go along with their usual performances.
These events were a new collaboration with the Kunsthaus (art museum) Bregenz that revolved around the theme of “America of the 20th century”, and The Art of Our Times program, also known as KAZ.
Collaborating with Hamburg’s Thalia Theatre as well, this effort effectively managed to bring together contemporary theatre with Workshop Theatre.
Other add-ons to the Bregenz Festival, created over time for more variety and entertainment are the Children’s Festival, the opera and band workshops, as well as family and school-group concerts.
David Pountney was the artistic director for the Bregenz Festival from December 2003 until 2014.
During April and May 2008, the festival as well as its amazing stage designs became famous through another medium. In that year, scenes for the 22nd James Bond film Quantum of Solace were filmed on the Seebühne (floating stage) during a performance of Tosca.
Then, one month later, in June 2008, the German broadcasting corporation ZDF hosted its 2008 European Football Championship live broadcast studio on the floating stage.
In 2010, the festival reached a new record with their program with almost 100 performances. This drew a varied international audience of close to 200’000 spectators.
2015 was the first year with Elisabeth Sobotka as artistic director. She started with 80 events and, by end of August 2015, further founded the Opera Studio with the goal “to help young singers with their professional and personal development in a highly professional environment and also to create a staging that the audience will really enjoy.”
The season of that year drew an audience of approx. 257’000.
Carmen proved to be very popular and was mostly fully booked with a total audience number of 193’642 people, including the dress rehearsal and cross-culture night.
In 2018, the Bregenz Festival grew even further beyond what had been thought possible: With 270,000 visitors in only 5 weeks, the festival attained a new attendance record.
In both years, 2017 and 2018, Bizet’s Carmen was the main audience magnet and attracted 400’000 spectators in total.
Through the years, the Bregenz Festival also continues to show a series of popular works by Puccini.
La Bohème was the first Puccini performance in 2001/02. Followed by Tosca in 2007/08. Turandot in 2015 and 2016. And, most recently Madame Butterfly in 2021. The fourth opera by the Italian composer to be performed in Bregenz.
Madame Butterfly is also planned for this year’s season in 2022.
The festival offers guided tours from May to August.
Due to the Covid19 pandemic the Bregenz Festival had to unfortunately cancel the 2020 festival. The planned performances of Rigoletto and the opera Nero were postponed to 2021.
On the Seebühne (or floating stage)
With its 7’000-seat open-air amphitheatre, it is the location for large-scale operas or musical performances on a stage over water on the shores of Lake Constance.
Operas or musical productions on the floating stage generally tend to come from the popular operatic repertoire.
However, they are often extravagantly original and innovative productions. Next to opulent set designs even frequently using the waters of the lake as an extension of the stage.
The Festspielhaus
Presents performances of rarely performed operas and concerts.
The Werkstattbühne
Presents performances of contemporary theatre and opera.
The Theater am Kornmarkt
Presents operetta and drama performances.
And the shed8/Theater Kosmos
Presents drama and cross-culture performances.
Official Homepage Bregenz Festival
The History of the Bregenz Festival
A Short History of the Zurich Opera House
Opera for Everyone – Thousands enjoying Opera and Picnic Together
Liam Klenk was born in Central Europe and has since lived on four continents. Liam has always been engaged in creative pursuits, ranging from photography and graphic design, to writing short stories and poetry, to working in theatre and shows. In 2016, Liam published his first book and memoir, 'Paralian'.
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