Any Mozart Week is a celebration of the genius loci in itself, but 2026 is a year of two major Mozart anniversaries: Mozart’s 270th birthday and 70 years since the world’s most important Mozart festival was founded in 1956. “Mozart was born in 1756, but it was not until his untimely death in 1791 that he came full circle and became immortal. Mozart: lux æterna is the motto of this Jubilee Mozart Week, we are celebrating Mozart’s eternal light,” explains Rolando Villazón, artistic director of the Mozart Week. The year 1791 is therefore the central theme of the programme of concerts, stage productions, the Trazom format and all the other events of Mozart Week 2026.

2026 is a Mozart year with two major anniversaries: Wolfgang Amadé Mozart celebrates his 270th birthday and the world’s most important Mozart festival, the Salzburg Mozart Week, celebrates its 70th anniversary. The International Mozarteum Foundation is celebrating these special occasions with a new production of Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute, staged by Artistic Director Rolando Villazón.

The three divisions of the Mozarteum Foundation, the artistic division, the museums and the scientific division, are jointly responsible for this large-scale project: the scientific director of the Mozarteum Foundation Ulrich Leisinger is in charge of the dramaturgy of the new production, the director of the Mozart Museums Linus Klumpner is advising the production and developing various special exhibitions in the two museums for the anniversary year. The Mozarteum Foundation’s unrivalled global expertise is thus particularly present in the anniversary year and accessible to the public like never before.

“Nobody is as close to the genius of Wolfgang Amadé Mozart today as the Mozarteum Foundation. Our three pillars and our joint commitment to Mozart are a unique strength, our ‘superpower’. We want to celebrate these two marvellous anniversaries together at Mozart Week 26, and what could be better suited for this than The Magic Flute! We will be staging Mozart’s most popular opera as a tribute to our beloved Wolfgang Amadé,” announces Rolando Villazón, Artistic Director of Mozart Week. ‘Only the Mozarteum Foundation here in Salzburg can offer such a holistic, well-founded approach to Mozart’s great masterpiece today.’

Ulrich Leisinger adds: “For us in the academic field, the active dramaturgical involvement in this new production of The Magic Flute is a wonderful new challenge. Rolando Villazón and I are in close dialogue about the historically documented sources on which the directorial concept is based. The concept of this production is full of magic and yet historically informed in the best sense of the word.”

Linus Klumpner is preparing a variety of special exhibitions in the two Mozart museums: “The stage design and costumes for this new production are set in the incomparable world of colour of Mark Rothko, a great admirer of Mozart and his Magic Flute. It goes without saying that we in the museum sector are particularly motivated to advise the production team and offer our audience unique moments in the museums throughout the anniversary year 2026.”

Roberto González-Monjas, Principal Conductor of the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, leads a dynamic ensemble of singers with some of the leading interpreters of their roles of our time: Kathryn Lewek is a globally acclaimed Queen of the Night, Franz-Josef Selig a legendary Sarastro. The young soprano Emily Pogorelc has already thrilled audiences as Pamina at the Metropolitan Opera New York and the Bavarian State Opera, among others, while the young tenor Magnus Dietrich also sings Tamino at the Berlin State Opera and the Semperoper Dresden.

A tribute to Mozart and an unforgettable event for Mozart fans and all those experiencing his immortal masterpiece for the first time.