On July 19, the Salzburg festival will open bringing the greatest Classical musicians in the world to the same stage.
The festival will open with its annual gala concert featuring Haydn's Oratorio Die Schopfung. Nicolas Harnoncourt will conduct the Concentus Musicus Wien with soloists Michael Schade, Florian Boesch and Matina Jankova.
The opera festival will begin with Harrison Birtwistle's "Gaiwain" and will feature stars Christopher Maltman and John Tomlinson.
Salzburg is known for uniting the world's greatest opera stars, musicians, conductors and orchestras. Highlights for the season include the Mozart Requiem, a Gustav Mahler symphony cycle featuring conductors Gustavo Dudamel, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Chailly and soloists Emily Magee, Yvonne Naef, Anna Prohaska, and Klaus Florian Vogt.
Soprano Edita Gruberova will give a one night only recital while Christian Thiellmann will conduct Bruckner symphonies.
Other highlights include a celebration of Giuseppe Verdi's bicentennial with the composer's "Don Carlo" with Jonas Kaufmann, Thomas Hampson and Anja Harteros and "Giovanna d'Arco with Anna Netrebko and Placido Domingo. "Nabucco" and "Falstaff" will also be presented with all star casts.
Richard Wagner's bicentennial will also be celebrated with "Die Meistersinger Von Nurberg" and "Rienzi."
Cecilia Bartoli will also return to the stage with Bellini's "Norma." The production opened earlier this year in the Whitspun Festival to rave reviews.
The festival will also include stars Rolando Villazon (Lucio Silla), Olga Peretyatko (Lucio Silla), Luca Pisaroni (Cosi Fan Tutte), John Osborn (Norma), Francesco Meli (Giovanna d'Arco, Nabucco), Zeljko Lucic (Nabucco), Diana Damrau (Die Entfuhrung Aus Dem Serail), Riccardo Muti (Verdi Requiem), Elina Garanca (Verdi Requiem), Piotr Beczala (Verdi Requiem), and Grigory Sokolov (Piano Recital).
The festivities will conclude on September 1 with Beethoven's Symphony No.9 under the direction of Riccardo Chailly with Gewandhausorchester Leipzig.