It is the quintessential musical festival, the most important and glamorous in the world. Although the Salzburg Festival has now fierce competition, both in Europe and in America, it continues to gather a collection of celebrities—both on and off stage. Created in 1920 by director Max Reinhardt and playwright Hugo von Hofmannsthal— whose version of the piece Jedermann (Everyone) is represented annually in Mozart’s birthplace—, the Salzburg Festival remains a staunch rival of the one celebrated in Bayreuth. But while Bayreuth’s purpose is only to present operas by Wagner, Salzburg features a very broad spectrum.

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