Ulrich Rasche to make Salzburg Festival opera debut

Ulrich Rasche will make his Salzburg Festival opera debut next summer directing and designing a new production of Donizetti's Maria Stuarda, announced today. He has previously directed plays The Persians and Nathan der Weise for the festival, but this marks his first opera there. 

The theme of the 2025 festival is 'the endgame of human existence', and Donizetti's opera explores the relationship between Scottish queen Mary Stuart and Elizabeth I in the final 24 hours before the execution of Mary on the orders of Elizabeth. Lisette Oropesa sings the title role and Kate Lindsey Elisabetta, with Antonello Manacorda conducting the Vienna Philharmonic. It opens in the Großes Festspielhaus on 1 August, with six further performances. 

Allan Clayton also returns to Salzburg next year, to sing the title role in two performances of Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex, with Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Lorenzo Viotti on 27 and 28 July. He is a frequent visitor to the festival, most recently singing in Britten's War Requiem there in 2024.