The leadership of the Salzburg festival unveiled the final version of 2020. As previously announced, the festival due to an epidemic situation greatly reduced: in thirty days (1-30 August) are, in particular, shows only two Opera premieres instead of the planned six. In addition, all festival events will be held with observance of draconian security measures.Each happens at least once at the Salzburg festival imagine how difficult and unusual it will look new rigor. Of course, the safety of another, not sanitary, there is actually always followed her conscience; of course, a suspicious person or the stowaway always instantly calculated, but, for example, no fellow with the earpiece in the ear on the mind when it has not. Only a few years ago, after another high-profile terrorist attacks, the staff at the entrance of the festival halls, steel watch ladies ‘ handbags, but do it briefly and politely, that in any case not to disturb the carefree fancy of the audience.All tickets will be registered, and will need to show along with the ticket ID, and so not to create a queue. Normally, when in the nearby “Hall of Mozart’s” Rock the arena and the Great festival hall performances take place more or less simultaneously, and in the intervals hundreds of spectators and onlookers happily crowding the adjacent Hofstallgasse, this year will not. Moreover, there will be no intermission — just for the fact that the public was not crowded and they stood in line at the restroom. Of course, no buffets.The singers and musicians wear during performances the mask is not necessary, but in General on the other side of the ramp sanitary measures will be too strict. The activity of all — from the actors to the stagehands — will be strictly regulated, mandatory testing; introduced the division into risk groups (who, as technical staff can distance themselves and wear masks, and some not) with the relevant procedural requirements.Two Opera premieres, remaining in the program, one will be prepared with a full eye on coronavirus conditions: Director Christof Loy has conceived a production of “Cosi fan tutte” by Mozart, which requires neither large-scale scenery, no long rehearsals. It is clear that the decision is forced and emergency — initially it was assumed that Mozart’s Opera program will meet the new “don Giovanni” staged by Romeo Castellucci and Teodor Currentzis. How it will be effective in the artistic sense, of course, hard to say, but at least the cast are impressed by names Bogdan Volkov (Ferrando), Lea Desandre (Despina), Marianne of Crebassa (Dorabella). Another innovation — a 34-year-old German John Mallwitz for bulletsthe fact of the Vienna Filarmonica: still no woman in the Salzburg music Director has yet to appear.The second premiere is “ELEKTRA” by Richard Strauss for a festival it was important to still keep in the program of the Opera two of its main composers. Here is all as it was planned before: puts “ELEKTRA” Krzysztof Warlikowski, conducted by Franz’zer-Places, Asmik Grigorian sing Chrysopelea and Ausrine Stundie — ELEKTRA.Of the conductors, for example, promised Christian Thielemann, Kirill Petrenko, Riccardo Muti, Kent Nagano, Daniel Barenboim; from pianists Grigory Sokolov and Evgeny Kissin, andrás Schiff, Martha Argerich, Arkady Volodos, Igor Levit (he will perform the Beethoven cycle, dedicated to the 250th anniversary of the composer); of singers — Juan Diego Florez, Julia Lezhneva, Anna Netrebko, Cecilia Bartoli.At all these events the festival will again offer tickets at a new system, developed in quite quick, as you can see, time. First (June 15) those who have already bought tickets to epidemic events will be offered sets of tickets, chosen so that, to the extent possible, to comply with their original wishes. Then (29 June) will open the sales for the preferred categories; from July 6, those who bought tickets for the hopelessly cancelled event, will be able to make a new choice, and from July 13 to offices open to all comers.It is clear that no such difficulties like the festival in the company of the 100th anniversary, but the anniversary celebrations will now be longer, and the festival 2021 (which will move a large part of the cancelled events) will also be dedicated to this date. A small consolation is the apparent economic distress, but what to do: in the end, the founder of the festival one hundred years ago, Richard Strauss, Hugo von Hofmannsthal and max Reinhardt, too, not everything turned out the first year.Sergey Hodnev
