“Salome” in the Valley of Flowers

With the operas “Salome” by Richard Strauss and “Idomeneo” (concert version) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the 2011 Whitsun Festival in the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden offers the most beautiful of contrasts. Furthermore, the fact that music lovers can enjoy concerts featuring some of the biggest operatic names of today makes a trip to the flower-filled Black Forest all the more thrilling.

The Whitsun Festival is Baden-Baden’s musical “classic”. Since 1998, this opera and concert festival has been celebrated in the Black Forest, an area which – thanks to boasting its own airport - is only one hour by plane from London. Great operas, great voices and mild early summer nights – all of these make the “German Glyndebourne” so special. As with the renowned British cultural festival, Germany’s largest opera house was founded by a private initiative, and has continued to be run privately since its inception in 1998. Its unique acoustics regularly attract artists and audiences from around the globe. The new production of the opera “Salome” (10th, 13th and 16th June) is at the centre of this festival in 2011. Nikolaus Lehnhoff – who also works in New York, London, Salzburg and Berlin and was the last assistant of Wieland Wagner – will transform the gory subject matter by Oscar Wilde and Richard Strauss into equally gory imagery. The role of Salome will be performed by internationally celebrated singer Angela Denoke.


The 200th birthday of Franz Liszt – who, on many occasions, spent time in Baden-Baden – will be celebrated on Saturday 11th June 2011 at 7pm by Daniel Barenboim (piano) and Pierre Boulez (conductor) who will present Piano Concertos No. 1 and 2 – a rarely performed programme.


How will summer in the Festspielhaus proceed? With supremely prominent artists! Joyce DiDonato, Diana Damrau, Rolando Villazón and Ildebrando D’Arcangelo can be heard in a concert performance of “Don Giovanni”, scheduled to take place in Baden-Baden on 18th, 21st and 24th July 2011.