Toronto Star
· collected 2026-09-18 · by Ronald Blum The Associated Press
Peter de Caluwe will become the artistic director of the Salzburg Festival in October 2027 after an impressive tenure at La Monnaie in Brussels. De Caluwe, who speaks five languages and has a history with the festival dating back to 1980, replaces Markus Hinterhäuser and follows Gerard Mortier’s legacy. He will work closely with interim artistic director Karin Bergmann as he prepares for his first fully programmed summer season in 2029, building on plans set by his predecessor.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-19,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Peter de Caluwe is set to become the artistic director of the Salzburg Festival starting October 1, 2027. This follows his innovative tenure at Brussels’ La Monnaie and marks one of the most influential roles in the arts world. The festival recently acknowledged negotiations with Australian director Barrie Kosky and Dutch National Opera’s Sophie de Lint for a joint leadership before hiring de Caluwe.
The Salzburg Festival saw more than 261,000 ticketholders this year, filling performances to 99% capacity during mid-July through August. De Caluwe will follow in the footsteps of his mentor Gerard Mortier and takes over from Markus Hinterhäuser, who was forced out in March after a decade-long tenure.
De Caluwe emphasizes that opera is not a museum, stating it should be innovative and provocative. He begins a five-year term on October 1, 2027, working with interim artistic director Karin Bergmann from next month to prepare for the transition.
Written for “Salzburg Festival Artistic Director C…” on 2026-10-04,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Peter de Caluwe will become artistic director of the Salzburg Festival in October 2027, assuming one of the arts world’s most influential jobs after an innovative tenure at Brussels’ La Monnaie known for world premieres and provocative programming.
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Caluwe → become → premieres
De Caluwe takes a position once held by one of his mentors, Gerard Mortier, who revolutionized the festival in the 1990s following the long reign of Herbert van Karajan.
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who → take → Karajan
De Caluwe replaces Markus Hinterhäuser, forced out in March after a decade in charge.
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Caluwe → replace → charge
It definitely never has been or it shouldn’t be,” de Caluwe said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Friday following a news conference in Salzburg, Austria.
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Caluwe → say → Salzburg
Karin Bergmann, whose background is in theater, was hired in April as interim artistic director for this year and next.
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background → hire → year
Much of the 2027 planning was put in place by Hinterhäuser, and de Caluwe will work with Bergmann in a preparatory period starting next month.
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Caluwe → put → period
He starts a five-year term on Oct. 1, 2027, and his first mostly programmed summer will be in 2029.
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summer → start → 2029
Kristina Hammer, a lawyer who took over as festival president in 2022 from Helga Rabl-Stadler, was given a second five-year term that starts Jan. 1.
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that → take → term
De Caluwe speaks 5 languages
A 63-year-old Belgian, de Caluwe speaks French, Dutch, English, German and Italian.
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Caluwe → speak → French
He first attended the Salzburg Festival in 1980 for a performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” directed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle and has regularly returned.
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He → attend → Ponnelle
“The first thing he said to me is: `I’m a team player.
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I → say → me
I will be listening,’” Hammer said in a separate telephone interview.
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Hammer → listen → interview
“That’s something that I find quite beautiful, if somebody starts like this and doesn’t start lecturing about everything.”
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somebody → ’ → everything
During de Caluwe’s time running La Monnaie, the company staged 160 productions that included 23 world premieres.
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that → run → premieres
Andrea Breth’s 2012 staging of Giuseppe Verdi’s “La Traviata” focused on prostitution and included seminaked women, some dressed in sadomasochism gear, one masked and led by a leash as she crawled across the stage.
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she → focus → stage
De Caluwe said that was among only about five productions during his tenure that caused a stir.
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that → say → stir
“That’s too little,” he said.
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he → ’ → ?
“I would have liked more to be controversy in the way that they cause so much discussion that people really almost felt like a revolution.”
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people → like → revolution
Festival acknowledged talks with Barrie Kosky
Karoline Edtstadler, provincial governor of the Province of Salzburg and a member of the festival’s supervisory board, acknowledged that before hiring de Caluwe the festival also negotiated with Australian director Barrie Kosky and current Dutch National Opera director Sophie de Lint to form a joint leadership team.
This year’s festival drew more than 261,000 ticketholders for 209 performances filled to 99% capacity from mid-July through August.
De Caluwe becomes the sixth artistic director since Karajan reigned from 1956-89, following Mortier (1992-2001), Peter Ruzicka (2002-06), Jürgen Flimm (2007-10), Alexander Pereira (2012-14) and Hinterhäuser.
Gerard Mortier and Pierre Audi were mentors
De Caluwe worked at La Monnaie under Mortier in the 1980s, shifted to Dutch National Opera from 1990-2006, then returned to La Monnaie as its general and artistic director from 2007-25.
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Caluwe → acknowledge → 2007
He also was mentored at the Dutch company by Pierre Audi, who became artistic head of France’s Aix-en-Provence Festival and New York’s Park Avenue Armory.
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who → mentor → Festival
“What has inspired me is their constant existence of excellence,” de Caluwe said.
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Caluwe → inspire → excellence
Because the Grosses Festspielhaus is scheduled to be closed for reconstruction during the festivals in 2029 and ‘30, an interim venue in the old city is envisioned for those years.
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venue → schedule → years
De Caluwe said a staging of Richard Strauss’ “Der Rosenkavalier” is possible for the Grosses Festspielhaus’ reopening in 2031.
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staging → say → 2031
“We are not bound to a building,” Hammer said.
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Hammer → bind → building
“We are bound to a DNA, a vision.”
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We → bind → DNA
The Aporia
