Bregenz Festival heads for attendance record

The Bregenz Festival is on course to set a new attendance record, with around 273,000 visitors expected by the end of its 80th season on Sunday, ORF reported. The final figure depends on the weather and whether any further performances are cancelled.

The festival cancelled its first performance of the season on Thursday when rain forced the cancellation of Verdi’s La Traviata on the lake stage. Three more performances are scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Across 28 sold-out performances, around 193,500 people are expected to see the opera.

The festival presented 80 events this year. Its president, Hans-Peter Metzler, described the season as successful in every respect. Artistic director Lilli Paasikivi praised the dedication of the performers and audience, highlighting a singalong in which more than 6,500 people sang together.

The festival also staged three world premieres. Its commercial director, Michael Diem, said the programme had rarely been so diverse while attendance had been so consistently high, at almost 100 percent. Around 43,000 people attended guided tours and introductions.

The three performances of Leoš Janáček’s house opera The Excursions of Mr Brouček attracted nearly 4,500 people, filling 98 percent of available capacity. The theatre productions drew around 2,000 visitors.

Funding cuts will affect next year’s festival. The federal government, the state of Vorarlberg and the city reduced subsidies by 30 percent for 2025 and 2026, equivalent to a shortfall of 2.1 million euros per year.

Diem said the festival did not yet know what funding would be available in 2027 and would therefore have to focus on essentials. Organisers intend to maintain the current standard and offer an opera studio again. Ticket prices will rise “a little”, but on average by less than inflation, he said.

There will be no theatre production in 2027, Paasikivi said. Advance sales for the 2027 season will begin at 9 p.m. on Sunday through the festival’s online shop. The season will open on July 22, 2027.

At the festival house, Othmar Schoeck’s Penthesilea will be performed from July 21, 2027, marking the 250th birthday of Heinrich von Kleist. Paasikivi described the rarely performed opera as a powerful, highly dramatic work. Further programme details are expected in November.