OVERVIEW

Bregenz-Bodensee festival is different. An opera festival with two stages: a traditional opera house, home to less-known operas, and an open-air lakeside stage, where productions are held in the most spectacular fashion.

It must have been the wonderful location of the city by the lake and the beautiful environment that made a couple of clever minds set up a stage on two barges in 1946, bringing the Bregenzer Festspiele to life. The lake and the surrounding countryside were thus to be a central part of all productions from the start. 60 years later the Bregenzer Festspiele is an integrated part of Austrian culture, and the lakeside stage is the largest of its kind.

For four weeks in summer audiences can experience monumental open-air opera productions in an unknown intensity. No wonder the producers of the 2008 James Bond film “Quantum of Solace” were excited by this spectacular setting when looking for locations. Filming took place for two weeks in the old town of Feldkirch and at the Bregenz lakeside stage, with its huge Tosca eye watching the excitement. The Tosca venue formed the background for the key scene of the film, and Puccini’s music was used for the dramatic soundtrack.

Theater and opera performances, orchestra concerts, and numeros other events contribute to the festival’s bold artistic profile. This successful approach will be continued in future years.