The Salzburg Summer Festival begins today, presenting a feast of opera, concert and recital performances across the next five and a half weeks.

Among the many Askonas Holt artists performing are Giovanni Antonini, Kristian Bezuidenhout, Rosa Feola, Vilde Frang, Christiane Karg and Sergey Khachatryan.

Asmik Grigorian makes her festival debut as Marie in a new production of Berg’s Wozzeck; one of five new productions at this year’s festival. Other new productions include Aida with Dmitry Belosselskiy as Ramfis, and La clemenza di Tito directed by Peter Sellars, with former Salzburg Young Singers Project member Christina Gansch as Servilia.

On 3 August, Elīna Garanča and Malcolm Martineau will present a recital programme of songs by Brahms, Duparc and Rachmaninov. Malcolm will also give a public masterclass for members of the festival’s Young Singers Project on 6 August.

Sir Andras Schiff will give three solo recitals across the festival, presenting works by Bach, Bartók, Janáček and Schumann on 27 and 29 July, and 2 August, and Bernard Haitink returns once again to conduct the Wiener Philharmoniker in Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 on 28 and 30 July.

Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker return to the festival for concerts on 27 and 28 August, presenting two distinct programmes: the Austrian premiere of Georg Friedrich Haas’ Ein kleines symphonisches Gedicht. Für Wolfgang followed by Haydn’s The Creation, and Shostakovich Symphonies Nos. 1 & 15.

New signing Ilya Kutyukhin is a member of this year’s Young Singers Project, and performs in the festival’s new production of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk conducted by Mariss Jansons and concert performances of Lucrezia Borgia conducted by Marco Armiliato, as well as taking part in masterclasses and a final YSP concert on 26 August.

Full listings for Askonas Holt artists are below.

Salzburg Summer Festival, 21 July to 30 August 2017

Mozart Matinee: BRUCKNER, SCHUBERT, MOZART (23 July)
Soprano, Christiane Karg
Estnischer Philharmonischer Kammerchor
Heli Jürgenson, Choir Director
Mozarteumorchester Salzburg
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Conductor

MOZART La clemenza di Tito (24 July dress rehearsal to 21 August)
Christina Gansch, Servilia
Teodor Currentzis, Musical Director
Peter Sellars, Director
Musica Eterna Choir
Musica Eterna

Solistenkonzert Schiff 1, 2 & 3: BACH, BARTÓK, JANÁČEK, SCHUMANN (27, 29 July and 02 August)
Piano, Sir András Schiff
Wiener Philharmoniker & Haitink: MAHLER (28 and 30 July)
Bernard Haitink, Conductor
Wiener Philharmoniker

Camerata Salzburg: BEETHOVEN, SCHUMANN (30 July)
Violin, Sergey Khachatryan
Lorenzo Viotti, Director
Camerata Salzburg

SHOSTAKOVICH Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk
Third Worker: Ilya Kutyukhin
Conductor: Mariss Jansons
Wiener Philharmoniker

MOZART C Minor Mass (3 August)
Soprano, Rosa Feola
Salzburg Bachchor
Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg
Ivor Bolton, Conductor

Liederabend Garanča & Martineau: BRAHMS, DUPARC, RACHMANINOV (3 August)
Mezzo-soprano, Elīna Garanča
Piano, Malcolm Martineau

Mozart-Matinee: SCHUBERT, MOZART (5 and 6 August)
Piano, Kristian Bezuidenhout
Giovanni Antonini, Conductor
Mozarteumorchester Salzburg

Public Masterclass: Malcolm Martineau (6 August)
Piano, Malcolm Martineau

VERDI Aida (6 to 25 August)
Dmitry Belosselskiy, Ramfis
Riccardo Muti, Conductor
Shirin Neshat, Director
Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor
Wiener Philharmoniker

BERG Wozzeck (8 to 27 August)
Asmik Grigorian, Marie
William Kentridge, Director
Salzburg Festival and Theater Children’s Choir
Wolfgang Götz, Conductor
Wiener Philharmoniker

Chamber Concert: SCHUBERT, SHOSTAKOVICH, MAHLER (19 August)
Violin, Vilde Frang

Young Singers Project Final Concert (26 August)
Baritone: Ilya Kutyukhin

Berliner Philharmoniker & Rattle 1: HAAS, HAYDN (27 August)
Simon Rattle, Conductor
Berliner Philharmoniker

DONIZETTI Lucrezia Borgia (27 & 30 August)
Ascanio Petrucci: Ilya Kutyukhin
Conductor: Marco Armiliato

Berliner Philharmoniker & Rattle 2: SHOSTAKOVICH (28 August)
Simon Rattle, Conductor
Berliner Philharmoniker

Photo credit: Markus U., Flickr, ‘Ein Wintermorgen in Salzburg‘, CC BY-NC 2.0