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The performance of Vincenzo Bellini's opera I Capuleti e i Montecchi delivered a powerful reinterpretation of the masterpiece. Directed by Alexander von Pfeil, the production centred on the relentless feud between two rival clans and the profound despair of its victims. This staging transcended specific eras, placing the story in a universal, timeless setting that brought Bellini's dark vision of love and war to the stage with harrowing clarity.

Meral Guneyman is a versatile classical musician, with numerous releases, who is comfortable in both pop and jazz music, has transcribed many original works and is also an enthusiastic arranger and improviser. Her ability to move between classical and jazz with lightning speed and conviction is a rarity. In 2021, her arrangements of classic David Bowie songs were presented for the first time on ‘Steinway-Spirio’ - a high-resolution self-playing system of the highest quality.

With the approval of research funding totalling 2.5 million euros from the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), the foundation has been laid for the development of a state-of-the-art X-Reality Lab - the digital centrepiece of the new Mozarteum University site at Kurgarten.

The winners of the excellent Master's theses 2022/2023 are Viktoria Anna Hirschhuber, Christiaan Josef Willemse, Giorgio Musolesi and Iris Vonolfen - congratulations!

Forgotten plays: A delightful invitation to immerse yourself in a day of staged readings, impressive installations, stimulating discussions, musical performances and contextualising videos. With forgotten voices from the past that meet us anew in the present and deal with our future. A staged reading marathon of seven theatre texts from three centuries of Austrian drama at the Mozarteum University.

Last Saturday, after four intensive weeks under the artistic direction of Hannfried Lucke, the International Summer Academy 2024 came to a very successful end with 55 masterclasses, 13 additional courses and 66 concerts. 550 participants from 53 nations (average age 21) were guests in Salzburg. Twelve up-and-coming artists were honoured and each received 1,000 euros in prize money donated by the City of Salzburg's Cultural Fund.

Masterclasses, concerts, operettas, contemporary composition and much more between Salzburg, Bad Ischl and Siena: an exciting academy summer awaits at the Mozarteum University!

On 24 May, "Doppler 15" will be the first concert by the newly formed ensemble for new music at Solitär. Kai Röhrig, the ensemble's musical director, flautist Leona Rajakowitsch and composer Anna Skladannaya (both students and founding members of the ensemble) talk about the genesis, current projects, challenges and the hunt for new, unheard-of soundscapes.

Sir John Falstaff is a natural phenomenon: his appearance is imposing, his demeanour commanding, his manner possessive. And most fascinating of all: the event does not care about rules, conventions or decorum, it simply exists for its own sake, in a sense for nothing but its belly.

Sarah Nemtsov, renowned composer and university professor of composition at the Mozarteum University, will receive the Heidelberger Künstlerinnenpreis 2025 for her outstanding contributions to contemporary music. The prize, which has been endowed with 10,000 euros since 2025, is one of the most important cultural prizes in Germany and is the only prize in the world to be awarded exclusively to female composers.

On 15 May, Giuseppe Verdi's last opera Falstaff celebrates its premiere under the musical direction of Kai Röhrig and directed by Florentine Klepper. The two artists provide exciting insights into the production and its creation in a double interview.

Elisabeth de Roo studied song and oratorio at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg and property and facility management at the University of Applied Sciences in Kufstein. With her play "Kein leichtes Mädchen. Käuflicher Liederabend", she addresses a sensitive topic and tries to encourage people to discuss it.