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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.

As a play, La Folle journée by the scandalous author Pierre Auguste Caron de Beaumarchais was banned in Vienna. However, Mozart and Da Ponte were able to suggest to Emperor Joseph II that the genre of opera would defuse the revolutionarily objectionable text and were thus commissioned to compose and write the libretto. The question of whether they did not in fact intensify the play in other ways is one that is posed anew in every production. With Le nozze di Figaro, Gernot Sahler and Alexander von Pfeil's opera class continued their Da Ponte cycle, which began with Così fan tutte in May 2023.

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. 

As part of the International Summer Academy and numerous masterclasses, the renowned American pianist, teacher, Mozart researcher and Harvard professor Robert Levin has been a regular guest at the Mozarteum University for many years. From May, he will take up his teaching position at the Department of Keyboard Instruments. We are very much looking forward to it!

The presentation concert of the scholarship holders of the newly created ensemble scholarship A (one-year) Start Up for Ensemble(s) took place in the impressive ambience of Schloss Leopoldskron at the beginning of April. In cooperation with "The International Society of Mozarteum University Salzburg", over 44.000 euros will be made available to students or graduates of the Mozarteum University Salzburg.

Florentine Klepper has been Professor of Music Drama (scenic) at the Department of Opera & Music Theatre since the summer semester 2024. In the interview, she provides insights into her working methods, previous and ongoing projects and shares her thoughts on the various facets of music theatre.

Berlin composer Frank Schwemmer was "very satisfied" after the world premiere of his new piece "mein Wort mein Glück mein Weinen" on 9 March 2024 in the Great Hall of the Mozarteum Foundation.