The Bregenz Festival or Bregenzer Festpiele is an annual operatic event, which hosts two operas every summer. One opera takes places inside the Festspielhaus (or the Festival House), and one is a famous Opera on the Lake.

1. Introducing the Bregenz Festival and the Seebuhne

The Bregenz Festival is hosted from late-July to late-August, and showcases two different operas.  There are two stages, the Seebuhne (the lake stage) and the Festspielhaus.  But really, the Seebuhne is where the action is at.  The lake stage is exactly that – an elaborate stage built to float on Lake Constance, with the Alps and gorgeous alpine landscape as a backdrop.

The lake plays a role in the story too.  Each opera has a new, larger than life floating stage on the lake which lasts at least 2 seasons.  I’d imagine that the building of such a massive stage warrants the multi-year showing.

Bregenz is located about 8 hours (by train) away from Vienna and less than 3 hours from Zurich.

2. James Bond Filming Locations in Austria – the Bregenz Festspiele

Some of you may know that James Bond has always had an affinity with Austria. Do you remember my post on visiting the alpine offices of Dr. Madeleine Swann in 2015’s Spectre?

A few years before Spectre, there was Quantum Solace (2008). There’s a scene where Mr. White and associates are watching a performance of Tosca and discussing pipelines. James is somewhere in the background watching and listening to them, having stolen one of their earpieces. You may remember it because of the giant eye on the stage.

Now, I wouldn’t say that I intentionally visit places inside movies, but seriously, how cool is that eye and that stage?! And an opera too? It’s definitely one of the most incredible James Bond filming locations in Austria! Sign me up!

3. My first attempt at visiting the Bregenz Opera

In 2013, when I had a summer school program in Vienna, I knew I had to visit Bregenz. Although Bregenz is far from Vienna, I was absolutely determined to visit. Bregenz is located on the western end of Austria, situated on the banks of Lake Constance, where the German and Swiss borders meet Austrian shores.

That year, Mozart’s The Magic Flute was showing.  However, due to … unfortunate, unforeseen employer circumstances, I had to cancel my trip to the Bregenz Opera and thus my ticket.  Luckily, I was able to give away my hotel reservations and tickets to a friend, who happen to be in Vienna for a conference at the same time. 

Behold the absolute magic of what he witnessed – The Magic Flute at the Bregenz Festival.

4. 2018 Bregenzer Festspiele: Carmen

When I was finally able to fit a return to the Bregenz Festival into my schedule, the selected opera on the lake for 2017 & 2018: Carmen, by George Bizet. Not going to lie – one of my favorite operas!

When I arrived in Bregenz, the chance of rain for the night of the performance was about 60%.  The following day, that had risen to 80%.  Accuweather got even more specific. Rain was scheduled to start at 9:30 PM, the exact start time of the show.

When you’re gonna get drenched checking off a bucket list item… ☔️@bregenzfestival @VisitBregenz pic.twitter.com/gjqgWpjHjh

— Lannie (@lannietravels) July 21, 2018

Although I would have loved nothing more than to get dressed up and watch this grand opera on a lake, with the impending thunderstorm, I thought it silly to do so.  I’m really glad I dressed down and brought my rain jacket.  I’m also glad the rain didn’t ruin my camera, which I had to put inside my backpack, on the floor.  I was trying my best to use my rain jacket as a shield and I guess it worked.  Suffice it to say, it rained about 75% of the whole show.  Poor me, yes, but poor performers!  They did an AMAZING job and I thank them for performing in the rain, so flawlessly and beautifully!

The stage was also amazingly constructed!  Now that Carmen’s official run is over, I can give it away some of the details… the cigarette stayed lit and smoking during the whole show.  There were images of playing cards and some videos or photos projected onto the massive playing cards.  There were scenes where people were on top of the cards and repelled down!  Carmen jumped into the lake!!!  What an amazing show.  Absolutely amazing!  Was it fun sitting in the rain?  Absolutely not.  But it was definitely a once in a lifetime experience, and you have to admit, there’s something kinda funny about being forced to be outdoors during a downpour.

5. Bregenz Festival 2023

The 2023 Opera on the Lake will feature Puccini’s Madama Butterly! For anyone wanting to make the journey in 2023, here are the deets:

Practical Information: Visit Bregenz for the Opera on the Lake

• In 2023, Bregenz Festival, or Bregenzer Festspiele, will be from July 20, 2023 to August 20, 2023.
• Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini will be performed.
• Tickets are already on sale.
• Ticket prices range from 30 to 258 EUR ($34 – 288 USD).
• More information and ticket sales is on their website.
• Bregenz is located approximately 2 hours from Zurich by train (19 to 38 EUR | $22 – $43) or a 7 1/2 hour train ride from Vienna (78 EUR | $89 USD).  Fares can be found on the OEBB website.
• I had a very comfortable stay at the Hotel Germania in Bregenz, a 4-star hotel 350 meters away from Lake Constance. Highlights for me were definitely the Finnish sauna and steam bath they had, and my dinner before the festival!

Information updated as of November 23, 2022.

6. Parting Thoughts on the Bregenz Festival

If you’re a huge fan of James Bond (and honestly who isn’t), and an opera fan, and you want to visit some incredible James Bond filming locations in Austria, then the Bregenz Festival is definitely a must! While you’re in Bregenz, check out nearby Solden for a mountain-top Spectre location.

If James Bond isn’t your thing, but outdoor operas or outdoor performances are, the Bregenz Festival is a fun thing to do on a weekend during the summer!  Although cold and drenched by the end, I’m so happy that I finally got to watch my favorite opera, Carmen. To be able to watch it on Lake Constance, with the Alps in the background, even more surreal and magical.  Bucket list: Check!

Lannie

Lannie is a perpetual wanderer and loves to share her travel adventures and the food she eats along the way with everyone.  She works during the day while bouncing around the world and dreams about new places and faces at night!  She has a home on the magical Isle of Islay in Scotland, where the whisky flows freely and happily.

Click on the blue icons below to follow her on social media!

lanniesfoodandtravel.com/index.php/about-me/

First of all, so sorry for the lack of posting this summer.  It had turned out to be so much busier than I anticipated.  From research and school work to beginning contract work on the side, it’s been challenging to stay on top of posting.  I have a plan in my head to catch up on posts, but for now, I’ll just give you some monthly highlights (with photos), and I’ll fill in the details in more posts on a regular basis now.

But before the monthly highlights, I just returned from the Cook Islands the other day, for a quick 6-day island getaway. My story of how the Cook Islands came to be seems to be an amusing one.  Last year on Black Friday (after-Thanksgiving Day sale), Air New Zealand had a fare sale to Auckland, NZ, for under $400.  Sales were posted to Twitter around 6 am, Eastern time.  Being in California for Thanksgiving, by the time I woke up in Pacific time, they were sold out.  There were Twitter rumors that Air NZ would have another sale for Cyber Saturday the following day.  So I turned on my notifications and set a light alarm on my phone for 4 am Pacific time (7 am Eastern time).

$490 RT LAX to RAR?  For the week of my 36^th birthday?  (9 months in the future, at this point)  Sure, why not!  The Cook Islands sound like a great idea.  And it totally was!  More on CI soon, but it was wonderful!  It’s a Polynesian paradise, without the crowds and big resorts.  I will definitely be going back in the near future!

So now, that recap of my travels since April 2018!

April

• Oaxaca, Mexico with a friend!
• Eating all the corn-based tortilla products one can find!
• Day trips visiting Hierve el Agua, the Tule Tree, Mitla and Monte Alban
• Watching a donkey go round and round in circles, grinding agave for mezcal, in a roadside, artisanal mezcal distillery

• Big Island, Hawaii!
• Hives on the flight…
• Photographing the Kilauea volcano and Milky Way in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
• Epic hike on lava fields
• Above the clouds, on the world’s tallest mountain, Mauna Kea.

May

• Back to school! In Vienna
• Visit to lovely but crowded UNESCO village, Hallstatt, in Austria
• Relaxing weekend in Budapest, with a friend that I met in Nepal!
• Quick jaunt to Bangkok for some Thai massages and relaxation!

June

• Unexpected and amazing time in Slovenia!
• Cloudy, sunrise hike over Lake Bled
• Hiking at and amazing scenery in Lake Bohinj and Triglav National Park with one half of travel bloggers, Rambles on the Go
• Eating dumplings, walking around Ljubljana and recording podcasts with the Postcard Academy!
• And then, almost the whole month in Croatia!
• Starting in Zagreb, with awful allergies, lots of sneezing, and seeing the remains of failed relationships.
• Full day hike with lakes and waterfalls in Plitvice Lakes National Park, with new Canadian friends!
• Eat lots of amazing pork afterwards at Pri Zvonou, a Zagreb institution within walking distance of my Airbnb
• On to Pula, for sunsets, Roman architecture, and boats
• But wait! I was stung by a sea urchin and had to dig out all the spines from my foot by myself (cue sound: womp womp)
• Chasing sunsets in Zadar
• Hike up to Manita Pec cave in Paklencia National Park
• Lots of balcony time and strolls along the beach in Okrug Gronji

July

• Visiting with Rembrandt in the Rjiksmuseum and friends in Amsterdam
• Crashing a friend and fellow bridesmaid’s family vacation in Milan!
• Taking breaks between eating gelato, pizza, burrata and prosciutto to see Italian Renaissance classics at Pinacoteca Ambrosiana
• Hiking above Lake Como, hearing tales of Italian-Swiss border smugglers and getting stung by way too many mosquitos
• Crashing the tail end of a different friend’s (and also fellow bridesmaid in the same wedding actually…) 3 week European vacation, in the amazingly beautiful and wonderful alpine town of Innsbruck, Austria!
• Hiked an incredibly difficult mountain in the Zillertal Alps… (story coming soon)
• Relaxation at Aqua Dome, sparkly things at Swarovski Kristallwelten, and frequent trips to Himal Nepali restaurant, in Innsbruck
• James Bond, mountains, and Milky Way in Soelden, Austria
• Watching Carmen, performed over Lake Constance as part of the Bregenz Festival, in Bregenz, Austria! Bucket list (CHECK)
• And then, back to school in Vienna!

August

• Stumbling upon the Pride on the Canal parade in Amsterdam!
• And finally, back to America for family time and R&R!
• Watched the Perseid meteor shower and shot the Milky Way at Anza Borrego Desert State Park, an international dark sky park
• Chased a particularly foul bucket list item to disappointment, at the Huntington Library, in San Marino, California.
• Celebrated being another year older and feeling particularly thankful for the experiences I have in life
• Crossed the Pacific to the Cook Islands, where I found the perfect paradise, without overwhelming tourists and large resorts.
• Took a day trip to Aitutaki where they have the bluest, clearest waters I have ever seen in my life!
• Sat in the cockpit on the way back from Aitutaki because the owner of my villa in Rarotonga happened to be the co-pilot on the flight!
• Made friends with a group of people that kept running to each other on the island, and happened to be all on the same flight back to LAX.

And now, today, September 5th, I am in Mexico City for a few days before I head back to California!  My life will be a bit more structured starting next week, so stay tuned for (more regular) posts and thanks for your patience!  Hope everyone had a great summer!

Lannie

Lannie is a perpetual wanderer and loves to share her travel adventures and the food she eats along the way with everyone.  She works during the day while bouncing around the world and dreams about new places and faces at night!  She has a home on the magical Isle of Islay in Scotland, where the whisky flows freely and happily.

Click on the blue icons below to follow her on social media!

lanniesfoodandtravel.com/index.php/about-me/