The Innsbruck Festival of Early Music (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

: Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik) is a festival of historically informed performances of music from the late

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

, Baroque and early Classical periods which takes place annually in Innsbruck, Austria. It was founded in 1976.

History

The festival had its roots in 1963 when the Innsbruck musician Otto Ulf (1907–1993) organized a concert at the

Ambras Castle Ambras Castle (german: Schloss Ambras Innsbruck) is a Renaissance castle and palace located in the hills above Innsbruck, Austria. Ambras Castle is above sea level. Considered one of the most popular tourist attractions of the Tyrol, Ambras Castle ...

to celebrate the 600th anniversary of

Margaret, Countess of Tyrol Margaret, nicknamed ''Margarete Maultasch'' (1318 – 3 October 1369), was the last Countess of Tyrol from the House of Gorizia (''Meinhardiner''), and an unsuccessful claimant to the Duchy of Carinthia. Upon her death, Tyrol became united with the ...

's bequest of

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

to the Dukes of Austria. The Ambras Castle concerts continued over the years and in 1972, he initiated an International Summer Academy in the city. The festival itself was established in 1976 with Ulf as its artistic director. Beginning in 1977 with Handel's '' Acis and Galatea'', the festival's centerpiece has been the production of at least one baroque opera or oratorio. Since then it has played a pioneering role in the revival of Baroque opera. The Belgian conductor and early music specialist

René Jacobs René Jacobs (born 30 October 1946) is a Belgian musician. He came to fame as a countertenor, but later in his career he became known as a conductor of baroque and classical opera. Biography Countertenor Born in Ghent, Jacobs began his music ...

had organized the festival's opera programme from 1991, and was artistic director of the entire festival from 1997 to 2009. In 2010, Alessandro De Marchi succeeded Jacobs as artistic director. Among the conductors who have appeared at the festival are Nikolaus Harnoncourt,

Jordi Savall Jordi Savall i Bernadet (; born 1 August 1941) is a Spanish conductor, composer and viol player. He has been one of the major figures in the field of Western early music since the 1970s, largely responsible for popularizing the viol family of ...

Sigiswald Kuijken Sigiswald Kuijken (; born 16 February 1944) is a Belgian violinist, violist, and conductor known for playing on period and original instruments. Biography Kuijken was born in Dilbeek, near Brussels. He was a member of the Alarius Ensemble ...

John Eliot Gardiner Sir John Eliot Gardiner (born 20 April 1943) is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Life and career Born in Fontmell Magna, Dorset, son of Rolf Gardiner and Marabel Hodgkin, Ga ...

and Alan Curtis.

Operas and concerts

Operas which have been performed at the festival (many of them in their first performance in modern times) include Cesti's '' L'Orontea'' and '' L'Argia'', Cavalli's ''

Giasone ''Giasone'' (''Jason'') is an opera in three acts and a prologue with music by Francesco Cavalli and a libretto by Giacinto Andrea Cicognini. It was premiered at the Teatro San Cassiano, Venice on 5 January 1649, during carnival. The plot is ...

'' and ''

Serse ''Serse'' (; English title: ''Xerxes''; HWV 40) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. It was first performed in London on 15 April 1738. The Italian libretto was adapted by an unknown hand from that by Silvio Stampiglia (1 ...

'', Conti's ''

Don Chisciotte in Sierra Morena ''Don Chisciotte in Sierra Morena'' is a tragicomic opera in five acts composed by Francesco Bartolomeo Conti to an Italian libretto by Apostolo Zeno and Pietro Pariati. The libretto is based on the episodes set in the Sierra Morena mountains ...

'', Sartorio's '' Giulio Cesare in Egitto'', Handel's ''

Flavio ''Flavio, re de' Longobardi'' ("Flavio, King of the Lombards", HWV 16) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was by Nicola Francesco Haym, after Matteo Noris's ''Flavio Cuniberto''. It was Ha ...

'' and '' Rinaldo'', Telemann's ''

Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with J ...

''; Hasse's ''

Solimano ''Solimano'' is an opera in three acts composed by Johann Adolph Hasse to an Italian-language libretto by Giovanni Ambrogio Migliavacca. Loosely based on an episode in the life of Suleiman the Magnificent, the opera premiered on 5 February 1753 ...

'', Haydn's '' Il mondo della luna'', Mozart's ''

La finta semplice ''La finta semplice'' (''The Fake Innocent''), K. 51 (46a) is an opera buffa in three acts for seven voices and orchestra, composed in 1768 by then 12-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Young Mozart and his father Leopold were spending the year in ...

'', and Gassmann's '' L'opera seria'' The festival's concerts are often centered on a particular theme. Among those presented in 2015 were "Lachrimae" ("Tears"), melancholy arias and songs from the Baroque and Renaissance periods, and "Die Harfe der Kardinäle" ("The Cardinals' Harp"), 17th-century songs to harp accompaniment composed under the patronage of Cardinals

Barberini The House of Barberini are a family of the Italian nobility that rose to prominence in 17th century Rome. Their influence peaked with the election of Cardinal Maffeo Barberini to the papal throne in 1623, as Pope Urban VIII. Their urban palace ...

and Montalto.

Cesti Competition

In 2010, Alessandro De Marchi initiated the festival's ''International Singing Competition for Baroque Opera Pietro Antonio Cesti''. Named for

Antonio Cesti Pietro Marc'Antonio Cesti () (baptism 5 August 162314 October 1669), known today primarily as an Italian composer of the Baroque era, was also a singer ( tenor), and organist. He was "the most celebrated Italian musician of his generation". Biogr ...

, a 17th-century Italian singer and composer who served at the Innsbruck court of Archduke Ferdinand Charles, the competition is open to young singers specialising in the performance of Baroque opera and has a top prize of

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

4000. Selected finalists also perform the following year in the festival's "Baroque Opera: Young" ("Barockoper: Jung") production which takes place in the inner courtyard of the University of Innsbruck's Theology Faculty. Past "Baroque Opera: Young" productions have included Cesti's ''

Orontea ''Orontea'' is an opera in a prologue and three acts by the Italian composer Antonio Cesti with a libretto by Giacinto Andrea Cicognini (revised by Giovanni Filippo Apolloni). Performance history The first performance took place in Innsbruck on 1 ...

'', Lully's '' Armide'', and a double-bill of Purcell's ''

Dido and Aeneas ''Dido and Aeneas'' (Z. 626) is an opera in a prologue and three acts, written by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell with a libretto by Nahum Tate. The dates of the composition and first performance of the opera are uncertain. It was com ...

'' and Blow's '' Venus and Adonis''. Sebastian Schwarz, who has served as Chairman of the Jury was appointed General Director of

Glyndebourne Festival Opera Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an annual opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England. History Under the supervision of the Christie family, the festival has been held annually since 1934, ...

in November 2015.Saunders, Tristram Fane (17 November 2015)
"Glyndebourne appoints new general director"
'' Daily Telegraph''. Retrieved 23 March 2016. Stiftskirche-Wilten-Innen

Venues

The festival takes place in several historic venues and churches in and around the city of Innsbruck. *

, Spanish Hall * Hofburg, Innsbruck * Tiroler Landestheater Innsbruck *

Innsbruck Cathedral Innsbruck Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of St. James (german: Dom zu St. Jakob), is an eighteenth-century Baroque cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Innsbruck in the city of Innsbruck, Austria, dedicated to the apostle Saint Jam ...

* Jesuitenkirche * Stams Abbey Church * Inner courtyard of the Theology faculty at the

University of Innsbruck The University of Innsbruck (german: Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck; la, Universitas Leopoldino Franciscea) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. ...

* Hofkirche Innsbruck * Tiroler Landeskonservatorium (Tirolean State Conservatory) concert hall * Wilten Abbey Church

Artistic Directors

* 1963–1991: Otto Ulf * 1991–1996:

Howard Arman Howard Arman (born 1954 in London) is an English choral conductor and opera director. He won the Handel Prize of the Handel Festival, Halle, in 1996, shaped the festival's orchestra and conducted operas of George Frideric Handel. He is a condu ...

* 1997–2009:

* Since 2010: Alessandro De Marchi

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial YouTube channel
{{Authority control Early music festivals Music festivals established in 1976 Classical music festivals in Austria Music festivals in Austria Festivals in Innsbruck