In 2026, the Inns­bruck Fest­iv­al of Early Music will cel­eb­rate its 50^th anniversary – an anniversary that impress­ively high­lights its pion­eer­ing role in the field of his­tor­ic­al per­form­ance prac­tice. Since its found­ing in 1976, the fest­iv­al has developed into one of the world’s most import­ant early music fest­ivals, fos­ter­ing numer­ous artists„ careers along the way. Par­tic­u­larly worthy of men­tion here is the Pietro Ant­o­nio Cesti Singing Com­pet­i­tion, which was estab­lished in 2010 and has since served as a spring­board for young tal­ent. Fur­ther­more, this year’s anniversary edi­tion fea­tures the per­form­ance of Cesti’s opera The golden apple one of the most import­ant and longest oper­as of the 17^th cen­tury is the focus. The opera is per­formed over two even­ings.

In 2023, Eva-Maria Sens took over as Artist­ic Dir­ect­or along­side Ottavio Dantone, who is serving as Music­al Dir­ect­or for a five-year term. Dur­ing this time, his Acca­demia Biz­antina, one of the world’s most renowned peri­od-instru­ment orches­tras, is becom­ing the Orches­tra in Res­id­ence of the Fest­wochen. In a tri­um­vir­ate with Com­mer­cial Dir­ect­or Dr Markus Lutz, they are real­ising their vis­ion for the Fest­wochen, which fosters an open dia­logue between the past and the present. The Inns­bruck Fest­iv­al of Early Music draws its inspir­a­tion from the unique atmo­sphere of the Alpine city. Numer­ous his­tor­ic­al venues—ranging from Renais­sance halls to Baroque theatres—provide the per­fect back­drop for an encounter with early music.

Opheli­as Cul­ture PR advises the fest­iv­al on press rela­tions and PR, and sup­ports inter­na­tion­al press work. The organisation’s dir­ec­tion with the new man­age­ment team, also with regard to its 50^th anniversary in 2026, is at the fore­front.