The Salzburg Whitsun Festival has focused on Neapolitan Baroque and the early classical era since 2007. Under the title "Salzburg goes Napoli" the artistic director, Riccardo Muti, refers to the long and tradition steeped connection between the Austrian and Neapolitan cultures.
The second year will see the staging of Giovanni Paissiello's entertaining opera Il matrimonio inaspettato on May 9 and 10, 2008 as a co-production with the Ravenna Festival. The play will be directed by Andrea De Rosa, assisted by the Salzburg Bach Choir and the Orchestra Giovanile "Luigi Cherubini".
Also on the program: the oratorio I pellegrini al sepolcro di Nostro Signore by Johann Adolph Hasse at the Collegiate Church and a series of arias under the motto "Arie per Senesino" featuring the countertenor Andreas Scholl and the Accademia Bizantina in a matinée at the House for Mozart. Chamber and choral concerts will also be held at the Mozarteum.
