On October 1st the 2009 Autumn Festival opened the season with a bang – Bertolt Brecht’s “Threepenny Opera” in Robert Wilson’s highly acclaimed production featuring the Berlin Ensemble. Members of the ensemble travelled to Baden-Baden and totally enchanted the audience with their splendid acting skills, whilst the chamber musicians in the orchestra pit shone as the Threepenny orchestra. A further magical moment came in October 2009 when  tenor Jonas Kaufmann presented his opera gala – a real treat for lovers of tenor radiance. Amongst the orchestral concerts, highly acclaimed performances by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Georges Prêtre, the Saxon State Orchestra Dresden with Christoph Eschenbach at the helm, and the Philharmonic Orchestra London conducted by Lorin Maazel remain embedded in the memory. The 2009 Karajan Music Prize was awarded to Thomas Quasthoff - to whom the Portrait of an Artist series was also dedicated -with the award money going towards his own Berlin contest, “Das Lied – International Song Competition”. Following the traditional guest performances by the Mariinsky Ballet St. Petersburg during the Christmas season, American mezzo soprano Joyce DiDonato ensured the conclusion of 2009 was as entertaining as it was artistic. The 2010 Winter Festival rang in the New Year in the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden with a production of Richard Strauss’ “Elektra”, complete with a first-class cast and directed by the late Herbert Wernicke. The members of the outstanding Munich Philharmonic Orchestra were seated in the orchestra pit and directed by star conductor Christian Thielemann. Later in the year, two of the great ‘Gods’ of the piano world took to the stage of the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden: Maurizio Pollini (3rd February) and Krystian Zimerman (19th March), both making their much anticipated, and afterwards, highly celebrated debuts in the Festspielhaus. The most substantial festival in Baden-Baden is always the Whitsun Festival, which in 2010 presented a new production of the opera “Carmen” by Georges Bizet. French conductor Phillippe Arlaud approached the work from an entirely different perspective, drawing on exaggerated folklore elements. The Balthasar Neumann Ensemble accompanied the production from the orchestra pit, performing on historical instruments under the direction of young Greek conductor Teodor Currentzis. The most unique project of the season – the “Violin Summit” - took place on 4th July 2010. The concert was also broadcast by ARTE, allowing a wider audience to experience three of the most exceptional violinists of today: Latvian Baiba Skride, Russian Alina Pogostkina, and Georgian Lisa Batiashvili. At the conclusion, the three performed together to premiere a new work by Nicolas Bacri. Without doubt, the most refreshing highlight of the 2010 Summer Festival was the comic opera “Il viaggio a Reims”, in a production by French director Alain Maratrag. Valery Gergiev brought this highly successful production from the Mariinsky Theatre St. Petersburg along with him to the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden. Anne-Sophie Mutter painted a very different musical picture on her Stradivarius this time around, enrapturing the audience at her “summer performance” with the violin concerto “In tempus praesens”, composed especially for her by Sofia Gubaidulina. Clearly, the absolute crowning conclusion to the season was the 2010 Baden-Baden Gala with the great Russian star soprano Anna Netrebko . Accompanied by the Orchestra dell’ Accademia di Santa, Cecilia Roma, under the direction of Antonio Pappano, wowed the Festspielhaus audience with works including “Stabat Mater” by legendary Italian baroque composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi. The concert was also recorded by Deutsche Grammophon, and the CD will soon be available for purchase.

In August 2008 the Festspielhaus celebrated both the tenth anniversary of its founding and the rebirth of the privately financed opera house - established in September 1998 – with performances by top-class musicians at festival concerts along with a creative supporting programme. As part of the festival programme, Gustavo Dudamel and the National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela left behind unforgettable impressions, as did the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the Mariinsky Theatre St. Petersburg Orchestra. On 14th September 2008 composer and conductor Pierre Boulez gave an impressive speech, praising the “radical idea” of building and establishing the largest German opera and concert house in a small Black Forest valley and managing to fund it privately. Deeply impressed by the festival programme, Baden-Baden entrepreneur couple Franz Bernhard and Annette Wagener became the 21st members of the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden Cultural Foundation.
Significant opera productions were often the topic of conversation and markedly shaped the 2008/2009 season. Rossini’s “Il barbiere di Siviglia” came to the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden directly from the New York Metropolitan Opera. Bartlet Sher’s production was celebrated  enthusiastically as was Thomas Hengelbrock’s interpretation of the Rossini score and the musical skills of the Balthasar Neumann Ensemble on period instruments.
For the Winter Festival, Christian Thielemann conducted a top-class international cast in “The Cavalier of the Rose”, and welcomed “his” Munich Philharmonic Orchestra into the orchestra pit following a long break. Amongst the illustrious list of soloists were Renée Fleming, Diana Damrau, Sophie Koch, Jane Henschel, Jonas Kaufmann and Franz Grundheber. Diana Damrau’s Evening Song Recital started a new era of concerts, with the audience on the stage facing the impressively illuminated auditorium. The new “concert room” was also used for the three-day ‘Portrait of an Artist’ series dedicated to “Oli Mustonen”. The Friends of the Festspielhaus celebrated their annual gala together with violinist Hilary Hahn, who totally enthralled the large auditorium with an intimate chamber concert and also became a prominent new member of the Friends of the Festspielhaus. Shortly after, the groups’ Board of Directors welcomed the 1400th member. The German Minister for Internal Affairs at the time, Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble, was once again appointed Chairman.
As part of the Whitsun Festival, Robert Wilson directed Carl Maria von Weber’s opera “Der Freischütz” for the first time in his long career. The famous Dutch couturiers Viktor&Rolf designed the costumes, thus ensuring attention from both the fashion and music worlds. The German-French television station ARTE broadcast this version of  “Der Freischütz” not only live on 1st June 2009 but also on the internet, allowing appreciation from two very different perspectives. Music lovers around the world were able to witness everything that happened both centre stage and behind the scenes of Germany’s largest opera house during a live reportage on www.arte.tv.
On 27th June the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden presented its first ever opera world premiere. Esther Hilsberg’s new opera “The Chinese Nightingale” –  made possible thanks to very generous donations from private Festspielhaus patrons - was performed as part of the Children’s Music Festival.
The Mariinsky Orchestra St. Petersburg under the direction of Valery Gergiev concluded the 2008/2009 season with a moving Shostakovich cycle. Although relatively unknown in Germany, the two Russian operas “Aleko” (Rachmaninoff) and “Jolanthe” (Tchaikovsky) were the stunning highlights of the Summer Festival, partly due to the prominent cast of singers. For the first time in her illustrious career, Anna Netrebko performed the role of Jolanthe, the blind daughter of the King, who is lusted after by Count Vaudemon (Piotr Beczala). The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung pronounced it “A Tchaikovsky festival”

Since it’s inception, 17 donors have raised endowment funds of 17 million Euros for the private Festspielhaus Baden-Baden Cultural Foundation. Together with his wife Karin, businessman and engineer Reinhard Mueller becomes a new Foundation member. Music lover Margarete Stienen from Baden-Baden, who passed away in July 2006, leaves the larger part of her estate to the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden.

In the first ‘Portrait of an Artist’ series, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden introduces French pianist Hélène Grimaud to the public with three different concerts on consecutive days.

The education programme ‘Columbus – discover classical music!’ has become a great success in the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden with around 12,000 school students having taken part in this project since it’s inception in 2002. Private benefactors enable students to attend classical concerts, ballets and operas with the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden providing school teachers with exclusive teaching material - compiled by academics from various universities - in preparation for the visits.

The recipient of the 2007 Herbert von Karajan Music Prize is Professor John Neumeier, ballet director, head choreographer and Artistic Director of the Hamburg Ballet. The honorific speech is given by Her Royal Highness the Princess of Hanover, in the presence of His Royal Highness Ernst August, Prince of Hanover and the premier of the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, Guenther Oettinger.

National attention is focused on Baden-Baden with the first ‘Federal President’s Charity Concert’ held outside Berlin for the first time. Horst Koehler and his wife Eva Luise are given a hearty welcome and together with Baden-Württemberg premier Guenther H. Oettinger, are overjoyed to learn of the largest collective donation in the history of this event: 250,000 Euros are collected for children’s relief projects in Germany on this one evening.
The Festspielhaus Magazine is recognised as the best magazine in the media / entertainment / culture category at the largest European convention for ‘Best of Corporate Marketing’ (BCP) in Munich.
Russian wonder-pianist Evgeny Kissin is awarded the Herbert von Karajan Music Prize on 26th November 2005.

Following the success of ‘Parsifal’ two years earlier, the same team (Conductor: Kent Nagano, Director: Nikolaus Lehnhoff) collaborate once more to produce Wagner’s opera ‘Lohengrin’ for the Herbert von Karajan Whitsun Festival, again filmed in the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden. The Baden-Baden production is subsequently incorporated into Milan’s La Scala programme.

By doubling the festival periods, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden is now able to offer large, great operas and classical concerts performed by internationally renowned musicians every season.

Husband and wife team Hella and Klaus Janson become members of the private Festspielhaus Baden-Baden Cultural Foundation. To date, the foundation has raised approximately 15 million Euros.
Head of the St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theatre, Valery Gergiev, is the recipient of the 2006 Herbert von Karajan Music Prize, awarded on 12th July.

The ever increasing popularity of the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden results in 120 international performances attracting and exciting over 220,00 visitors to Germany’s largest opera house every year. The enthusiasm for the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden is also reflected in the development of the ‘Friends of the Festspielhaus’ society, which annually increases in size, now boasting more than 1,100 members. In Autumn, Dr. Wolfgang Schaeuble is voted into the position of Chairman, succeeding the founding Chairman Dr. Lothar Spaeth.
The artistic highlights of the year are the performances of Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute”, under the musical direction of Claudio Abbado. The legendary maestro celebrates his return to opera by conducting this work for the first time in his extensive and impressive career.
Married couple Beatrice and Goetz W. Werner become members of the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden Cultural Foundation.

In January the second ‘Ring’ Cycle performed on the stage of the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden is greeted with critical acclaim. International press, including reviewers from the New York Times, enthusiastically report on an important discovery for the musical world. ‘Parsifal’, the second great Richard Wagner opera in this season, is also a great success. Filming of the elaborate Nikolaus Lehnhoff production performed in the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden is sold to television stations throughout the world, and released for sale to the general public on DVD in August.
The demographic of visitors to the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden has changed. Now 30 percent of visitors travel from within a radius of 40 kilometres, 50 percent from within a radius of 40 to 120 kilometres, and approximately 20 percent come from further afield, both nationally and internationally. Married couples Anneliese and Wolfgang Grenke, and Mary Victoria Gerardi-Schmid and Hans R. Schmid become members of the private Festspielhaus Baden-Baden Cultural Foundation.

On 7th May 2004 the Herbert von Karajan Music Prize is awarded to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, which shows its gratitude by performing a gala concert under the direction of head conductor Sir Simon Rattle.

The ‘Columbus’ education programme is established in the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, a school project being the founding element. After an initial preparation at school, local students are able to obtain priority tickets for the relevant concert or opera programme for only eight Euros. Baden-Baden businessman Wolfgang Grenke   generously lends his support to this project as co-initiator, aimed at awakening enthusiasm and developing an appreciation for classical music amongst youths. From its inception, more than 50 school students show great interest in the project.
In the eyes of both audience and press, the artistic highlight of the year is the first cyclic performance of ‘The Ring of the Nibelung’, performed by the St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theatre under the direction of Valery Gergiev.
The Festspielhaus Baden-Baden Cultural Foundation initiates the Herbert von Karajan Music Prize with the associated prize money of 50,000 Euros, to be used purely for supporting and nurturing emerging musical talent. The prize winner determines how the prize money is to be used. The first recipient of the award on 15th June 2003 is violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter.

An important milestone in the financial recapitalisation is achieved: the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden becomes the first opera and concert house in Europe to receive a ‘black zero’ by running the establishment entirely without public subsidies. It was able to almost double the number of private donors and sponsors from the previous year and over 800 members have since committed their allegiance to the ‘Friends of the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden’ society.  In a recent survey of visitors, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden receives absolute top marks. Klaus-Georg Hengstberger and Horst and Marlies Weitzmann are welcomed as new members of the Cultural Foundation.

For the first time the 200,000 visitor mark is exceeded. The first in-house opera production ’La Traviata’ - for the Herbert von Karajan Whitsun Festival - receives national attention and acclaim. Following the intensive liaison and acquisition of private donors and sponsors, a Festspielhaus ‘support programme’ is established, based on the US American model. With the new concept of corporate design, the Festspielhaus is given a makeover. Sigmund Kiener, Wolfgang and Françoise Mueller-Claessen and Frieder Burda become members of the Cultural Foundation.

The Festspielhaus Baden-Baden records a considerable increase in visitor interest since autumn and the financial restructuring bears its first fruits. New members join the ‘Friends of the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden’ society. The spell has been broken.   
The private ‘Festspielhaus Baden-Baden Cultural Foundation’ is established by committed music lovers Karlheinz Koegel, Ernst H. Kohlhage, Hugo and Rose Mann, Walter Veyhle and Alberto Vilar. For a symbolic 50 cents, the Cultural Foundation takes over all company shares of the operating company from the City of Baden-Baden. Chairman of the board is Horst Weitzmann.

The Herbert von Karajan Whitsun Festival presents ‘Idomeneo’ as a co-production with the Salzburg Festival. Two hours before the performance is due to begin, a technical defect causes the sprinkler system to discharge 40,000 litres of water onto the stage. Feverish overnight repairs allow the performers to give a triumphant performance the next afternoon.

With Michael Drautz as commercial director and Dr. Johannes Bultmann as director of the artistic division, the company management is strengthened. An internal three-year recapitalisation project-plan is developed to save the opera house.
In early 1999 the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden submits a proposal for public start-up funds of 6.5 million Euros to cover implementation of recapitalisation, the funding to be spread over three business years. Following positive plausibility checks of the recapitalisation plan by McKinsey & Company Inc, the start-up financing is provided. The recapitalisation programme is now underway with the City of Baden-Baden and State of Baden-Wurttemberg each carrying half the costs.

On 18th April 1998 the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden is opened with a celebratory concert by Valery Gergiev and the World Orchestra for Peace. Even in the run up to the opening, public scepticism of the originally planned business model is rife. Due to management errors, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden experiences very little public sympathy or acceptance. Overpriced tickets are the icing on the cake. From the very first performance, visitor interest falls considerably short of expectations.
Due to this lack of interest along with insufficient capital resources, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden faces insolvency just three months after opening. An upward trend is not foreseen. The parent company DEKRA withdraws its commitment and offers no new capital input. Public scorn and mockery envelop the opera house. Managing Directors Dr. Rainer Voegele and Klaus Klein, as well as Artistic Director Wolfgang Goennenwein are relieved of their responsibilities.
Andreas Moelich-Zebhauser is appointed new Artistic and Managing Director, and as a sign of new beginnings initiates a spectacular free-ticket promotion for the Mariinsky Opera Festival. To avoid impending insolvency, the City of Baden-Baden takes over the company shares of the operating company from DEKRA for 50 cents.

The Festspielhaus Baden-Baden takes form. Hannelore Kohl, wife of then Federal Chancellor Kohl, has the honour of breaking the ground in a ceremony on 10th May 1996. The building shell is constructed in record time. Viennese architect Wilhelm Holzbauer and Stuttgart expert on the construction of public buildings, civil engineer Walter Veyhle, create Germany’s largest opera house with 2,500 seats. The construction costs remain within the budget of approximately 60 million Euros. Thanks to targeted contract planning, approximately 70 percent of the capital expenditure remains within the region.