Grigorian and Hinterhäuser win Austrian music theatre awards

Asmik Grigorian and former Salzburg Festival director Markus Hinterhäuser were among the winners at the 14th Austrian Music Theatre Awards, held Tuesday evening at Vienna’s Votive Church, ORF reported.

Hinterhäuser received the Grand Jury Prize for his work as a pianist, festival director and cultural manager. The jury, chaired by culture editor Heinz Sichrovsky, praised his courage to pursue unconventional projects, his programming vision and his ability to recognise exceptional artists.

Grigorian and Spyres take main role awards

Grigorian won the award for best female leading role for her portrayal of Norma at Theater an der Wien. The 45-year-old Lithuanian singer achieved her international breakthrough with Salome at the festival.

American tenor Michael Spyres, born in 1979, won best male leading role for his performance as Giovanni Pierluigi Palestrina in Palestrina at the Vienna State Opera.

Patricia Nolz won best female supporting role for her performance as Silla in Palestrina at the State Opera. Jörg Schneider won the male supporting role award for playing the Doctor in Three Sisters at the Salzburg Festival.

Claus Guth was named best director for his productions of Bluebeard and The Human Voice at the Erl Festival. Maxime Pascal won best conductor for Three Sisters at the Salzburg Festival.

Salzburg production wins best opera award

The Salzburg Festival also won the award for best overall opera production for Zaide, an unconventional Mozart project conceived by Raphaël Pichon.

Josef E. Köpplinger’s production of Waldmeister, presented as part of Vienna’s Johann Strauss 2025 festival, was named best operetta.

Briefe von Ruth by Gisle Kverndokk won best musical production. The work addresses the Holocaust, a subject not usually associated with the genre, and was recognised in its production by the now-closed Kammeroper Wien.

Alma, the Volksoper’s biographical opera about Alma Mahler-Werfel by composer Ella Milch-Sheriff, won best premiere. Vienna’s small avant-garde venue Bronski & Grünberg won best independent production for Eurobronski, its homage to the Eurovision Song Contest.

The Salzburg Festival and Volksoper Vienna received the most awards, with three each. The Vienna State Opera and the Tyrolean State Theatre in Innsbruck followed with two awards each.

Silja receives lifetime achievement award

German soprano Anja Silja, 86, received the lifetime achievement award in person. Karl-Michael Ebner, president of the Austrian Music Theatre Awards, said Silja had not merely interpreted roles but made them her own with a directness that was often unfamiliar to the music theatre of her generation.

The audience award went to Italian baritone Leo Nucci, who is now 84.