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Religious Confrontation
GIUSEPPE PENNISI experiences
Salzburg Festival's 'Ouverture spirituelle'
When Alexander Pereira took over the responsibility of the artistic direction of the Salzburg Festival, he made the decision to extend the program by a week so that it could be introduced by an Ouverture spirituelle: music devoted to the Almighty. The decision was based on a return to the Festival's roots: when in 1917 (during World War I), the Festival began, on the basis of program drawn by Max Reinhardt, Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal, its center piece was Hofmannsthal's sacred play Jedermann, which even now has at least ten performances each year in front of Salzburg Cathedral. In addition, new and less expensive versions of the play are staged in the 'off Salzburg' festival in smaller theatres and nearby towns. Pereira maintains that this area is a mine still to be explored: a few months ago, for instance, an unknown Mozart oratorio was discovered...
Copyright © 5 August 2014
Giuseppe Pennisi,
Rome, Italy
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