Following the departure of Markus Hinterhäuser, Karin Bergmann will take over as artistic director of the Salzburg Festival . The board of trustees appointed her as interim director with immediate effect, the office of Salzburg Governor Karoline Edtstadler (ÖVP) announced on Tuesday. The decision was unanimous. Bergmann will be responsible for the festival's artistic affairs until a new artistic director is appointed, which is planned for autumn 2027.

Karin Bergmann

Bergmann, born in Recklinghausen, Germany in 1953, has headed the theater/literature department of the Salzkammergut Festival in Gmunden since 2022. From 2014 to 2019, she was artistic director of the Burgtheater in Vienna.

that the Salzburg Festival gained a highly skilled cultural manager in her appointment. "She is not only a personality of outstanding artistic excellence, but also a top manager who, with empathy, interpersonal skills, and extensive experience, will sensitively but decisively set the course for the future."

Bergmann explained that she was taking on the task "with great respect for her responsibility and with great appreciation for the artistic direction of Markus Hinterhäuser".

The pianist and cultural manager Hinterhäuser (67) had been at the helm of the festival since 2016. Due to "irreconcilable differences of opinion and disagreements," he was placed on leave at the end of March until the end of his contract.

The positions of artistic director and president of the Salzburg Festival are to be advertised simultaneously in the coming weeks. The board of trustees intends to appoint a search committee and engage an external personnel consultancy.

Founded in 1920, the Salzburg Festival attracts around 250,000 visitors each year with approximately 200 events over six weeks. Last year, the festival achieved an occupancy rate of 98.4 percent.

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