Haus für Mozart

The Salzburg Festival’s Haus für Mozart, or House for Mozart, is a 1,500-seat theatre in the Austrian city of Salzburg. It was founded in 1925 when horse stables were turned into a theater for the mystery plays that were a mainstay of the five-year-old festival, becoming the Festspielhaus, the festival’s first dedicated performance space. This name remained until 1960, when the bigger Neues Festspielhaus opened next door, when it was renamed Altes Festspielhaus, or Old Festival-House.

However, three seasons later, to avoid confusion among tourists who were unaware of the history, both theatres were renamed after their sizes, with the smaller becoming the Kleines Festspielhaus. The name remained consistent for forty-two seasons, until 2004. The theater was then shuttered for the fourth time for gutting and renovation. When it reopened in 2006 as the festival’s main theatre for Mozart and Rossini operas as well as Baroque stageworks, it got its current name.

Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s drama Das Salzburger große Welttheater, directed by Max Reinhardt, launched the facility. However, there were immediate alterations. After the first season (1925), it was reconstructed under the leadership of Clemens Holzmeister, and after the Nazi invasion of Austria (1938), Benno von Arent restored it again. After WWII, a third rebuild was carried out by Salzburg architects Hans Hofmann and Erich Engels.

In preparation for the 250th anniversary of Salzburg-born Mozart in 2006, local authorities led by Landeshauptmann Franz Schausberger struck a financial deal with the Republic of Austria to refurbish and technically enhance the theater. The ideas were created by architects Wilhelm Holzbauer, a student of Holzmeister, and the Luxembourger François Valentiny, and included structural alterations to the lobby space between the Felsenreitschule, another venue, and what would become the Haus für Mozart.

The artist Josef Zenzmaier planned three new entrances, while the German Michael Hammers constructed a golden art-wall in the foyer. The theatre was modified to hold 1,580 people, including 1,495 seats and 85 stances (standing spaces). The new venue was opened by Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducting Mozart’s opera Le nozze di Figaro.