Thielemann Swoops into Salzburg

That was quick. No sooner had Rattle and his Berliners pulled out of their own Salzburg Easter Festival, heading for greener pastures in Baden- Baden, than Christian Thielemann and his new Dresden band swooped in to the fill the vacuum. They start in 2013 and continue at least through 2017. Berlin, meanwhile, fulfills its obligation in 2012.

Salzburg Mayor Heinz Schaden announced the new alliance yesterday.

Thielemann will conduct Salzburg’s new “Parsifal” production in 2013 and Strauss’s "Arabella" the following.

The Berlin Philharmonic, for whom Herbert von Karajan established the Easter Festival 45 years ago, is leaving over a dispute about the number of opera performances Salzburg would accommodate. Rattle wanted four, Salzburg said it could only accommodate two.