Bon Voyage | © Alfred Mailick / Winkler und Voigt, Leipzig_Privatsammlung

Salzburg Whitsun Festival

May 22 – 25, 2026

The Salzburg Whitsun Festival has been a highlight of the Salzburg event calendar since 1973. Experience this festival in early summer as a brilliant complement to the Summer Festival!

The History of the Salzburg Whitsun Festival

Herbert von Karajan brought the original Whitsun Concerts to life back in 1973, in order to assuage the demands of potential subscribers to the Easter Festival. Until 1982, three orchestral concerts were performed on Whit Saturday, Whit Sunday and Whit Monday respectively by the Berlin Philharmonic under Herbert von Karajan.

After the death of Karajan, guest concerts by international orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra were added to the program. In 1998, it was taken over by the Salzburg Festival, who rechristened the Whitsun Concerts as the Salzburg Whitsun Festival. Riccardo Muti became artistic director of the Whitsun Festival in 2007, continuing to serve in that role until 2012, when Italian singer Cecilia Bartoli succeeded him. Since 2012, the main production from the Whitsun Festival is also performed during the Summer Festival.

2025 Salzburg Whitsun Festival – Sounds of la Serenissima

The 2026 Salzburg Whitsun Festival will focus on travel. From May 22 to 25, a diverse program will be presented under the motto “Bon Voyage”, kicking off with Rossini's “Il viaggio a Reims”. The journey continues with the following highlights:

– “Il viaggio a Reims” – opera by Gioachino Rossini, new production
– “The Little Mermaid” – ballet by John Neumeier, freely adapted from Hans Christian Andersen
– “Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria” – opera and puppet theater by Claudio Monteverdi, new production
– “Voyage de ma vie” – opera gala, a staged journey through the musical cosmos of Cecilia Bartoli
– “Übers Meer” – matinee, a musical journey in the footsteps of Odysseus, Arion, and Tancredi