The centerpiece of the festival is the 26 performances of "The Magic Flute" which began July 17 in the 6,800 seat open air theater. The orchestra in the pit, the Vienna Symphony, is conducted by Patrick Summers.

Also featured during this four week festival is a world premier of "The Merchant of Venice" by the Polish composer Andr_ Tchaikowsky (1935 _1982). He emigrated to Great Britain and wrote the opera in 1970s but it has never been performed. Also, August 16 and 17 sees performances of a recent opera from the award-winning Austrian composer Olga Neuwirth who takes a new look at one of opera's most fascinating female figures, Alban Berg's "Lulu." In her "American Lulu" the protagonists are Afro-Americans whose story is told against the backdrop of US protest movements of the 1960s and 70s.

The orchestra concerts of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra see the return of the well-known British conductors Paul Daniel and Sir Mark Elder. The third conducter of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra concert series this summer is the German Claus Peter Flor. More information and a continuous webcam view of the festival's floating stage is at:

http://presse.bregenzerfestspiele.com/en/kategorie/hauptmen/press-service/webcam-seeb-hne?i=l2