Salzburg Festival kicks off in Austria

The 2016 Salzburg Festival was kicked off on Friday afternoon, with 78 performance across 30 locations to provide a program of nearly six weeks of music and drama.

The opening day is set to focus on folklore and folk culture, the organizers said on their website, with the highlight to be the traditional Salzburg Torch Dance where about 100 participants use torches to draw images at night.

On the classical music side, the Ouverture spirituelle, the traditional opening to the festival that focuses on the spiritual side of music with an inter-religious tone, will this year feature Yannick Nezet-Seguin conducting the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

The Converging Brass Band March will also perform on the opening day, with marching bands playing a piece written by Gerhard Kofler, while traditional folk dances will be performed at the Heckentheater at the Mirabell Park.

Comedy performances are also to be given by the Salzburg Street Theatre.

The remainder of the festival will feature other numerous performances, such as "Salzburg's Composers" which is to feature classical pieces from the city's greatest composers, and the festival's most popular play "Everyman," from Hugo von Hofmannsthal.

The Vienna Philharmonia Choir is also to perform at three operas through the festival, while for younger visitors a children's choir is to perform excerpts from opera and concert productions from recent years. Endit