300 tons should float on the water as lightly as a piece of paper: the Bregenz Festival celebrated the topping-out ceremony for its lake stage and the opera “Madame Butterfly” on Wednesday. This year, the focus of events is an oversized paper image.
The special challenge is to make the sheet of paper look light, almost weightless and seem to float on the water, said Technology Director Wolfgang Urstadt in Bregenz. In fact, the stage weighs around 300 tons and is made of steel, polystyrene and wood.
A total of 26 evenings at this year’s Bregenz Festival
The 23 meter high and 33 meter wide stage will be the central element of this year’s production of the famous opera by the Italian composer Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924). A collage of elements such as paper boats, an American flag and Japanese painting is also planned. The stage design is expected to be completed by June. “Madame Butterfly” will be shown for the first time in Bregenz. A Puccini opera, namely “Turandot”, was last seen in Bregenz in the 2015/16 season.
The opening of the 76th Bregenz Festival is planned for July 20th. According to the information, two-thirds of the approximately 190,000 tickets for the 26 festival evenings have already been booked. The productions can be seen in July and August for two years in a row. Tranquil Bregenz, with around 30,000 inhabitants, has long since gained international fame with the world’s largest floating stage.