Music Theater Prize

Few nominations from Upper Austria

Erica Eloff in "Die tote Stadt" by Erich Wolfgang Korngold(Bild: Reinhard Winkler)

The Austrian Music Theatre Prize is highly coveted, as it honors outstanding achievements in opera houses and theaters, as well as in the festival landscape. The nominees have now been announced, including productions from Upper Austria. 

This year, the jury of the Austrian Music Theater Prize has made a total of 56 nominations in 15 categories. It is always a question of looking back, as productions from the 2022/23 season are considered.

With ten nominations for seven productions, the Vienna State Opera ranks first among the nominated houses. With six nominations for five productions, the Volksoper Wien is in the running for the coveted awards; the Salzburg Festival and the Theater an der Wien have each been nominated six times for three productions.

Great conductors from Upper Austria
Franz Welser-Möst, who conducted "Der Ring des Nibelungen" at the Vienna State Opera, has been nominated for best musical direction. And Tobias Wögerer, born in Linz, is one of the best up-and-coming local conductors.

Opera productions from Linz
Erica Eloff was nominated for the best female lead role as Eva in "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" and as Marie-Marietta in "Die tote Stadt" at the Landestheater Linz. The Korngold opera "Die tote Stadt" also has a good chance as an overall production. Among the Linz musicals, "Natascha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812" at the Landestheater impressed.

"Madame Pompadour" in Bad Ischl(Bild: Marion Hörmandinger)

Bad Ischl joins in
A strong signal after all: "Madame Pompadour", a production of the Lehár Festival Bad Ischl, is among a total of four nominations in the "Operetta" category.

Incidentally, the President of the Music Theater Prize is Karl-Michael Ebner, Director of the Steyr Music Festival. The award ceremony will take place on September 1 at the Volksoper Vienna.