Carmina Burana Marks 20 Years Grafenegg Festival
Unitel blue presents Carmina Burana, Rudolf Buchbinder and the Midsummer Night’s Gala in a landmark year celebrating 20 years of Grafenegg.
Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana at the opening of the 20th Grafenegg Festival, with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Cristian Măcelaru. © Roman Zach-Kiesling
Midsummer Night’s Gala 2026 at Grafenegg with Angel Blue, Julia Hagen, Bogdan Volkov and the Tonkunstler Orchestra under Fabien Gabel © Roman Zach-Kiesling
Midsummer Night’s Gala 2026 at Grafenegg with Angel Blue, Julia Hagen, Bogdan Volkov and the Tonkunstler Orchestra under Fabien Gabel © Roman Zach-Kiesling
A summer of anniversaries at Grafenegg: in 2026, Unitel blue presents two major ORF 2 productions from the iconic Wolkenturm open air stage, both bringing the atmosphere of Grafenegg’s 20th anniversary summer to worldwide audiences.
On 14 August, the 20th Grafenegg Festival opened with a spectacular anniversary concert, broadcast live on ORF 2. The Philharmonia Orchestra under Cristian Măcelaru performed Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with Rudolf Buchbinder, followed by Carl Orff’s monumental Carmina Burana, with the Wiener Singverein, Wiener Chormädchen and soloists Nikola Hillebrand, Nicholas Phan and Germán Olvera.
The concert also celebrated Buchbinder’s extraordinary legacy. Grafenegg’s founder and artistic director turns 80 on 1 December, having shaped Grafenegg into an internationally renowned centre of music – a legacy now also honoured by the newly opened Rudolf Buchbinder Hall. His performance of Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy provided a fitting bridge towards the Beethoven anniversary year 2027.
Already in June, Unitel blue co-produced another Grafenegg highlight: the traditional Midsummer Night’s Gala. The Tonkunstler Orchestra of Lower Austria under Fabien Gabel was joined by soprano Angel Blue, tenor Bogdan Volkov and cellist Julia Hagen for a festive start to Grafenegg’s anniversary summer.
Two productions, one anniversary summer – celebrating 20 years of Grafenegg while looking ahead to Buchbinder, Beethoven and 2027.
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