Bregenz Festival

Last performance on the lake fell through

The opera had to be moved to the dry.(Bild: APA/DIETMAR STIPLOVSEK / APA / picturedesk.com)

Rain thwarted the record-breaking plans of the Bregenz Festival (Vorarlberg) on Sunday and the opera "Freischütz" had to be moved to the Festspielhaus. 

The Bregenz Festival came to an end on Sunday evening with the first rain cancelation of the season. The final performance of "Der Freischütz" could not take place in the village setting on the lake stage, but was performed as an indoor event from the start due to heavy rainfall. As a result, the targeted attendance record also fell through.

According to the Festival, a total of 268,200 guests attended this year, of which around 193,400 tickets were for the Festival's main attraction, "Der Freischütz". With 270,000 visitors, "Carmen" 2018 was the most successful season to date.

The performance on Sunday evening was the only one of this year's 28 performances that had to be shown in a semi-staged version in the Great Hall of the Festspielhaus. The approximately 5,400 visitors with a "lake ticket", i.e. a ticket that is only valid for the Seebühne performance, will now get their money back. Around 1,650 "house ticket" holders were able to experience the opera in the Festspielhaus.

98 percent capacity utilization
Overall, the Festival recorded an occupancy rate of 98 percent this year with around 80 events, and "Der Freischütz" was sold out. Advance ticket sales for the next festival season begin on October 1. The program includes the house opera "Oedipe" by George Enescu as the first production of the new artistic director Lilli Paasikivi, premiering on 16 July 2025, as well as the revival of "Der Freischütz" the following day with a total of 25 performances.