Theater, music and art from around the world are celebrated for five whole weeks in Vienna. Whether "Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald", "Macbeth", "Orfeo ed Euridice" or festival concerts at Vienna's Musikverein – there's a highlight to suit every taste. The opening event at City Hall Square has a line-up of international artists, is free to attend, and draws thousands of visitors each year.

This year, the Vienna Festival program bears the distinctive styling of the new artistic director Markus Hinterhäuser for the first time. The cultural offering has an international flavor: all in all there are 37 productions from 32 countries as well as exhibitions, video installations, films, talks by artists and 22 festival concerts.

The theater program is curated by Frie Leysen. A highlight right at the beginning: the Deutsche Theater Berlin gives a star performance with Ödön von Horvath’s Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald, produced by Michael Thalheimer (10-13 May, Volkstheater). The program includes two pieces from one of the most important French directors, Claude Régy: Intérieur by Maurice Maeterlinck (11-14 May, Hall G), and Le Barque le soir / Boat in the evening by Tarjei Vesaas (11-15 June, Hall G).

Music from Orfeo to Kraftwerk

The program of music created by musical director Hinterhäuser is very diverse. A special production during the Vienna Festival is Gluck’s opera Orfeo ed Euridice, produced by Romeo Castelucci. The Italian director, who is known for his extreme interpretations, shifts the mythical story of the wandering of the soul through the kingdom of shadows into the world of medicine. The musical implementation is provided by the Orchester B'Rock - Baroque Orchestra Gent. Countertenor Bejun Mehta sings Orfeo and Christiane Karg sings Euridice (Hall E, 11, 13, 16, 18 May).

A highly anticipated production comes from the Teatro Real in Madrid to Vienna: Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, staged by the Austrian Oscar prize-winner Michael Haneke. Sylvain Cambreling conducts the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen (Theater an der Wien, 2, 4, 5 June). Also already a classic, but at home in a completely different genre, is the German troupe Kraftwerk. With Der Katalog - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, the cult group performs its complete opus in Vienna. Special 3D video projections make the show an overall work of art in sound and pictures (15-18 May, Burgtheater).

As always, the festival concerts at the Musikverein offer a first-class program, including the Vienna Philharmonicunder the direction of Riccardo Muti (11 May) and the Concentus Musicus with Nikolaus Harnoncourt at the conductor's desk (24, 25 May).

Vienna Festival

9 May – 15 June 2014

Vienna Festival Opening Ceremony:

"Europe sings" - 9.5. at 21.20 on Wiener Rathausplatz (freier Eintritt)

ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra

Conductor: Cornelius Meister Arnold Schoenberg Choir

Choirs from Germany, France, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Croatia, Bulgaria, Austria.

Tickets: +43 1 589 22 55

Tickets and information:

www.festwochen.at

Vienna Festival concerts

11 May – 19 June 2014 Tickets:

+43 1 505 81 90

Tickets and information: www.musikverein.at