Salzburger Landestheater

The Salzburg State Theatre stands beside the Mirabell Gardens in the city’s historic Altstadt, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its main building seats 707 people and hosts opera, theatre and dance, with resident companies of actors, singers and dancers. About 400 performances take place each season from September to June. The staff of 340 people come from 35 countries, making it a lively international stage. The theatre is a listed building, preserving its place in Salzburg’s cultural landscape. The theatre’s history reaches back to 1775, when Prince Archbishop Colloredo built the Court Theatre on the site of a former 17th-century ballroom. Emanuel Schikaneder directed the theatre for several years and became acquainted with the Mozart family, whose music was first performed there in 1776. The present building, designed by Fellner & Helmer, opened in 1893 with an overture from Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito. Max Reinhardt, later a founder of the Salzburg Festival, began his career here. After closure in 1944, the building served as a radio studio before reopening in 1945. Inside, the main auditorium presents contemporary and classic works with the Mozarteum Orchestra as resident ensemble. The Studio Theatre in the former Mirabell Casino, known as Bühne 24, was added in 1971 for smaller productions. The theatre also collaborates with the Salzburger Marionette Theatre, staging joint productions in its space. During the summer festival season, the State Theatre shares venues with the Festival Theatres while hosting its own performances. Recent leaders such as Katrin König and Leslie Suganandarajah continue to shape its musical and artistic direction.