The musical theater productions, in particular, were met with enthusiastic acclaim from the international media and audiences; they were 92 percent full. The eagerly anticipated first-ever staged adaptation of the cantata Cleopatra in combination with Puccini's Sister Angelica It moved and captivated audiences with star director Deborah Warner’s sensitive direction of the cast and the intense vocal and dramatic performances of the two title characters by Véronique Gens and Corinne Winters.

Josef E. Köpplinger's production of Wagner's The Flying Dutchman At the Passionsspielhaus, the production became an immersive experience thanks to the use of the entire space and the stage design featuring elaborate projections. Christopher Maltman, who played the title role, was particularly acclaimed by the press and the audience. A total of 4,500 people attended this successful production over the course of three sold-out performances.

The Austrian premiere of Philip Venables’ We Are the Lucky Ones, directed by Ted Huffman, demonstrated just how exciting and emotionally moving contemporary music theater can be. The generation born in the 1940s—whose stories formed the basis for the opera’s scenes—could relate to it just as much as their children and the next generation. The festival organizers are convinced that this commitment to contemporary opera is of central importance to the positioning of the Tiroler Festspiele Erl. In 2027, with Accabadora by Francesco Filidei, the next Austrian premiere is already being presented.

Concert opera has now become part of “Erler’s program DNA”: Bizet’s masterpiece Carmen I ended up at the sold-out opera festival featuring Aigul Akhmetshina, Michael Fabiano, Alexander Vinogradov, and Pretty Yende in the leading roles.

As always, the orchestra and choir of the Tiroler Festspiele Erl were kept busy with opera and concert projects. Principal Conductor Asher Fisch led the The Flying Dutchman, Carmen and the orchestral concerts. As acclaimed guest conductors, Edward Gardner appeared at Cleopatra/Sister Angelica and Bassem Akiki at We Are the Lucky Ones at the lectern.

Both performances of Urlicht Primal Light, where the band Musicbanda Franui, together with the group Circa, got people of all ages cheering—especially since, thanks to the participation of children from the Tyrolean Ballet School, several generations were indeed on stage together.

This year’s revival of the “Film with Music” series, in cooperation with the Oberaudorf Music Film Festival, was also a great success: The Festspielhaus Erl was once again transformed into a movie theater, this time featuring a silent film accompanied live by The Dodge Brothers and Neil Brand Beggars of Life.

Other projects that drew large audiences featured high-profile artistic guests who came to Erl: the Basel Chamber Orchestra, pianists Sophia Liu and Federico Colli, as well as Waltraud Meier, Samuel Hasselhorn, and Joseph Breinl, who presented a reading accompanied by music that they had curated themselves.

Artistic Director Jonas Kaufmann:

“It is with great joy and gratitude that I take stock after my second season. The second summer season, in particular, demonstrated that the balanced mix of our program has been very well received by the audience. We don’t just feature big-name works and performers on our program; we also make a point of presenting contemporary music theater and offering younger voices and musicians the stage in Erl that they deserve. A big thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of our season and to our audience, who come to see us in such large numbers. We look forward to continuing this work in 2026/27.”

The next season of the Tiroler Festspiele Erl will begin with the "Ausklang" Fall Festival (October 1–3, 2026).