Opera
Bregenz Festival 2026 and 2027 with “La Traviata”
The designated Finnish artistic director Lilli Paasikivi (right) and Hans-Peter Metzler, festival president. photo
© Gian Ehrenzeller/KEYSTONE/dpa
“La Traviata” will be the first new lake stage production by the designated Finnish director Lilli Paasikivi at the Bregenz Festival.
The Bregenz Festival is showing the opera “La Traviata” on the lake stage in the summers of 2026 and 2027. The work by Giuseppe Verdi is the first new lake stage production by the designated Finnish director Lilli Paasikivi, who will take over the artistic direction of the summer festival from the 2025 season, the festival announced on Monday. The Italian Damiano Michieletto is responsible for the direction, the stage design is designed by Paolo Fantin. Both are working at the Bregenz Festival for the first time. The premiere is planned for July 22, 2026, the last performance of summer 2026 is scheduled for August 23 on the Seebühne.
“‘La Traviata’ is a quintessential Italian romantic opera. The story, the music and the characters create a captivating and engaging evening for the eyes, ears and heart,” said future artistic director Paasikivi. In the coming festival summer, the play from the past season is once again on the program with “Madame Butterfly”. In 2024 and 2025, the festival “Der Freischütz” by Carl Maria von Weber, which is not least popular with visitors from Germany, will be showing.