Peter de Caluwe named new Salzburg Festival director

Belgian director Peter de Caluwe will become the new artistic director of the Salzburg Festival, the festival board confirmed to ORF on Wednesday. He will take over at the end of the 2027 festival.

The board plans to announce the decision officially at a press event on Friday morning and introduce the designated director. It also confirmed an extension of festival president Kristina Hammer’s contract.

De Caluwe will take the position alone. A planned joint leadership involving Dutch musician and Amsterdam Opera chief Sophie de Lint and Australian director Barrie Kosky did not go ahead. The APA news agency, citing insiders, reported that negotiations broke down on Tuesday evening over disagreements about the contracts and the division of responsibilities.

De Caluwe previously led La Monnaie opera house in Brussels.

Interim director Karin Bergmann will plan and stage the 2027 festival and is also preparing the 2028 programme. The new directorate will take over after the 2027 festival.

Hammer will remain president of the Salzburg Festival. The German former marketing executive was first elected to the post in January 2022, succeeding long-serving president Helga Rabl-Stadler. Hammer applied for another term, and her contract will be extended from the beginning of 2027.

A total of 48 people applied for the two advertised leadership positions, the artistic directorship and the presidency.