The 2008 Salzburg Festival opens today (including information on the opera transmissions)

The 2008 Salzburg Festival 26/7-31/8 officially opens today under the theme "Denn stark wie die liebe ist der Tod" (death is as strong as love). A rather lengthy and (over)-intellectual essay on this subject may be read here (in German). Jürgen Flimm is Festival Intendant.

I will be reporting intensively from the Salzburg Festival, as I will spend most of my summer holiday there (from 17-25/8) hopefully seeing all the operas (with the possible exception of Romeo&Juliette) as well as Riccardo Muti & The Vienna Phil in Ein Deutsches Requiem with Peter Mattei and Genia Kühmeier at the slightly antisocial hour of 11 am...
Finally, I´ll be attending a sort of workshop with Gustavo Dudamel, Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Símon Bolívar Youth Orchestra.

Complete Salzburg Festival programme 2008

The 2008 operas (with links to radio transmissions when available):

Don Giovanni - staged by Claus Guth. With Dorothea Röschmann, Annette Dasch, Christopher Maltman, Erwin Schrott et al. Conducted by Bertrand de Billy.
Premiere 27/7. No information on radio transmissions, but Don Giovanni will be transmitted to a giant screen on the Kapitelplatz in Salzburg (free) on 16/8 as part of the Siemens Festspiel Nächte

Otello conducted by Riccardo Muti, staged by Stephen Langridge with Aleksandr Antonenko (O), Marina Poplavskaya (D), Carlos Alvarez (I). The premiere on 1/8 will be transmitted live on ORF and Bayern 4. I am going on August 21.

Otello will be transmitted live on 3sat (August 10th) as well as to a giant wide-screen on the Kapitelplatz in Salzburg (free) on 10/8 as part of the Siemens Festspiel Nächte

Romeo & Juliette, staged by Bartlett Sher with Rólando Villazón and Nino Machaidze. The premiere on 2/8 will be transmitted live on Austrian television as well as on ORF radio, and on 13/8 on Bayern 4.
Romeo&Juliette will be transmitted to a giant wide-screen on the Kapitelplatz in Salzburg (free) on 17/8 as part of the Siemens Festspiel Nächte. Romeo & Juliette is confirmed for DVD release by DG in January 2009.

Duke Bluebeard´s Castle, staged by Johan Simons, conducted by Peter Eotvös with Michelle DeYoung and Falk Struckmann. The premiere 8/8 is transmitted live on ORF. I am going on August 18th.

Rusalka, staged by Wieler/Morabito, conducted by Franz Welser-Möst with Camilla Nylund, Emily Magee and Piotr Beczala. The 17/8 premiere is transmitted live on ORF and Bayern 4.

Magic Flute, Pierre Audi´s production, conducted by Riccardo Muti. From 13/8. No information on transmissions. This production was released on DVD in 2006. I am going on August 22nd.

The complete 2008 Salzburg Festival transmissions from Bayern 4 Klassik may be downloaded here.

Full schedule for the Siemens Festspiel Nächte here.