22.07.2026 – 23.08.2026
The Bregenz Festival is celebrating its 80th anniversary this summer and is presenting a diverse programme of events on Lake Constance. Giuseppe Verdi’s *La traviata* will be performed on the lake stage for the first time, marking the debut of one of the most popular works in the history of opera. The programme also features Leoš Janáček’s satirical opera The Excursions of Mr Brouček at the Festspielhaus, two world premieres on the Werkstattbühne, drama, the opera studio, and orchestral and chamber concerts. For their production of Giuseppe Verdi’s *La traviata*, director Damiano Michieletto and set designer Paolo Fantin transpose the story of the Parisian courtesan Violetta Valéry into the glamorous yet unsparing world of the 1920s.
The Festspielhaus will host Leoš Janáček’s *The Excursions of Mr Brouček*, a rarely performed opera that blends fantasy, satire and social criticism. Yuval Sharon, Artistic Director of the Detroit Opera, stages the work as a Dada-inspired journey between the moon, the Middle Ages and the modern era. Robert Jindra conducts, with set and costume design by Jon Bausor.
On the Werkstattbühne, two world premieres of musical theatre explore the tensions between technology, consumerism and humanity: *Passion of the Common Man* by Daníel Bjarnason and *YUM!* by Wen Liu focus on questions of empathy, consciousness and social alienation. The Opera Studio presents Donizetti’s *L’elisir d’amore* at the Theater am Kornmarkt. Director Anna Kelo transposes the romantic comedy to a high school setting and tells a story of first love, insecurity and self-discovery. In the drama programme, the Burgtheater is making a guest appearance in Bregenz with Molière’s *The Imaginary Invalid*, directed by Burgtheater director Stefan Bachmann.
At the Theater Kosmos, Natalie Baudy’s *under the influence* will also celebrate its world premiere as the winning play of the Austrian Theatre Alliance. The orchestral concerts at the 2026 Bregenz Festival will range from Nordic soundscapes to works of the 20th and 21st centuries. Under the baton of Dalia Stasevska, Eva Ollikainen, Petr Popelka and Leo McFall, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and the Vorarlberg Symphony Orchestra will perform works by Kaija Saariaho, Jean Sibelius, Maurice Ravel, Antonín Dvořák, Edward Elgar and others.
The musical programme is complemented by the immersive piano recital ‘Bach Nirvana’ with Angela Hewitt on the Werkstattbühne, an evening of chanson with Anne Sofie von Otter, and a Bach concert with the Bavarian Radio Choir at the Galluskirche in Bregenz
Bregenzer Festspiele 2026
22.07.2026 – 23.08.2026
various locations
www.bregenzerfestspiele.com
