Salzburg Fest Taps Interim

In the wake of Markus Hinterhäuser’s abrupt exit, the Salzburg Festival has appointed Karin Bergmann as artistic director for the next two seasons, with immediate effect: The event gets underway in three months. The former artistic head of Vienna’s Burgtheater—where she also began as interim, in 2014, also with immediate effect—she is the Festival’s first female artistic leader and is viewed as a calm and hugely competent presence. That’s what is needed because, according to Kronin Zeitung, the festival descended into chaos after the departure of Hinterhäuser, capping acrimony among him, the board of directors, and Festival President Kristina Hammer, whose contract, like Hinterhäuser’s, expires at the end of the festival. (He is on a leave of absence until then.)

Ironically, it is Bergmann whom Hinterhäuser suggested should be the next head of drama at the festival. Since she had not applied for the job, Board Chair Governor Karoline Edtstadler characterized his suggestion as violating a “code of conduct clause” in his contract, thereby setting off the sequence of events that led to his ultimate departure.

In any case, Edtstadler is pleased with his replacement: “In Karin Bergmann, we have secured a seasoned cultural manager for the interim directorship. She is not only a figure of outstanding artistic excellence but also a top executive who—with empathy, keen insight into human nature, and extensive experience—will set the course for the future in a manner that is both sensitive and decisive.”

Bergmann’s response: "I am taking on this role with great respect for the responsibility it entails, and with deep appreciation for the artistic achievements of Markus Hinterhäuser. Now—somewhat to my own surprise—I bear the responsibility for the interim artistic direction of the Salzburg Festival. I intend to approach this task in my own way, drawing on my own experience, yet always with profound respect for the artistic profile that the Salzburg Festival has cultivated over recent years."

Bergmann must not only put the final touches on the coming season, but secure arrangements for the next one within a relatively short time frame. Plus, the festival's official calls for a new artistic director and new president are anticipated in the next several weeks.

Bergmann, 73, left the Burgtheater in 2019 and has headed the Drama and Literature departments at the Salzkammergut Festwochen Gmunden since 2022.

Kronin Zeitung