Salzburg - Large Festival Theater

(Local Name: Neues or Grosses Festspielhaus) The New or Large House (Neues or Grosses Festspielhaus) of the Salzburg Festival District in Hofstallgasse was built by Holzmeister in 1956-60, with a massive stage 40m/130ft high cutting deep into the Mönchsberg (its construction involved the removal of more than 55,000 cu. m./72,000 cu.yd of rock). This house, famed for its excellent acoustics, has seating for an audience of 2,170. Five bronze gates, with handles designed by Toni Schneider-Manzell, provide public access from Hofstallgasse. In the entrance hall stand two fountains with figures representing "Music" and "Theater"; in the lower foyer is a steel relief by Rudolf Hoflehner, "Homage to Anton von Webern", and in the foyer outside the first-floor boxes hangs a tapestry designed by Oskar Kokoschka, "Amor and Psyche". There are busts of Richard Strauss, Karl Böhm, Max Reinhardt and Alexander Moissi, who conducted the first performance of Hofmannsthal's "Jedermann" ("Everyman") at the Salzburg Festival. The foyers of the boxes at the side of the circle are decorated with large paintings by Wolfgang Hutter ("From Night to Day") and Karl Plattner ("Salzburg, its Architects and its Music"). At Festival time mainly operas are performed in the Large House. At other times of the year concerts are put on in Mozart Week, as well as the Easter Festivals and other events.