In July 2022, after a gap of seventeen years, I returned to Bregenz and took another tour of the festival grounds and the lakefront stage, this time to see the stage that had been built up for Andreas Homoki’s new production of Madame Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924). Since I Read More …
Bregenz, Austria, is best known for its open-air opera performances at the lakefront stage on Lake Constance, but the town also has a conventional theater building called the Theater am Kornmarkt, which is used each year from September through June as the main venue of the Vorarlberger Landestheater, the state Read More …
Cycling is a big recreational activity all around Lake Constance. Anywhere on the shore of this lake (I used to come to the German part several times a year) you see a steady stream of cyclists of all ages going by. You can cycle all around the lake, 250 kilometers, Read More …
An option for those who have found accommodation in other cities on Lake Constance is to travel to Bregenz on a special ship that is timed to arrive shortly before the performance, and leave shortly afterwards. There is a ship to and from Lindau, Germany, for every performance, and usually Read More …
The Bregenz Festival began on a very small scale in 1946, directly after the Second World War, while this part of Austria was still under French military rule. The stage that first summer consisted of two small barges moored in Bregenz harbor. That first year, the festival already included two Read More …
You can take a tour of the Bregenz Festival grounds at 10:30, 11:30, 12:30, 13:30, 14:30 or 15:30 any day during the five-week festival season. The cost (as of 2022) is € 7.50 per person and usually includes the inside of the festival building, the grandstand, and of course the big stage Read More …
This sign on the pier leading out to the lakefront stage on Lake Constance tells workers what action to take in case of high water at various levels. From level 494 (which is still one meter below the level of the aluminum pier) they should close the aluminum wall of Read More …
Before my first trip to Bregenz in the summer of 2002, I was very skeptical about the loudspeaker system. I was afraid it would either sound tinny, like a London musical, or ear-splitting like a rock concert. But it was neither of these. It was pleasant, natural, clearly audible but Read More …
Here on the shore of Lake Constance (Bodensee) at Bregenz, Austria, is the open-air opera venue where the Bregenz Festival is held every summer. On the grandstand there are 6800 seats for us spectators, surrounded by over 600 loudspeakers that are part of a sophisticated sound system called “BOA — Read More …
It’s nearly always a bit hazy over Lake Constance, but on a (relatively) clear day you can get some fine views by taking the cabin lift from Bregenz up to the top of the Pfänder mountain (1064 meters). The lower station of the cabin lift (Pfänderbahn) is on Belruptstraße, just Read More …