Salzburg Festival leaves Crepaz’s future uncertain

ORF reported Thursday that it remains unclear whether Lukas Crepaz will stay on as commercial director of the Salzburg Festival after Peter de Caluwe was named its new artistic director.

According to information available so far, Crepaz is expected to announce his withdrawal from Salzburg next March. A report on ORF’s Zeit im Bild 2 programme on Wednesday evening has not yet been officially confirmed.

The planned decisions on the festival’s directorship and presidency have raised an additional personnel question. The commercial director’s position will definitely be advertised again in the autumn, but it is currently unclear whether Crepaz will apply.

Crepaz is regarded as a key figure in the renovation of the festival halls, a project costing around 400 million euros.

De Caluwe, the long-serving director of Brussels opera La Monnaie, prevailed over the other candidates after Markus Hinterhäuser was removed from the position. The Belgian was born in 1963.