Theatre and congress complex, comprising:

• Seebühne:
  [First festival performances on a lake stage in 1946, using two boats in the Gondelhafen harbour. Opened 5 Aug 1946 with Mozart's "Bastien und Bastienne" and a ballet to Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" and other works. 1947 installation of a flexible lake stage off the "Strandbad" beach and a flexible auditorium with 2500 seats.]
  1950 installation of a permanent lake stage on an artificial island at the current site of the Seebühne, with a flexible auditorium of 6500 seats. Opened 22 July 1950 with Millöcker's "Gasparone". 1953 installation of a permanent auditorium with 6400 seats. 1979 major rebuilding: installation of a lake stage with concrete foundations including an orchestra pit in the basement. Auditorium rebuilding (originally 4400 seats, later gradually expanded by flexible seating to 6800 seats). Re-opened 20 July 1979 with Puccini's "Turandot". 1984 installation of a new sound system, using focused directional amplification. 1998 expansion of the permanent auditorium (6767 permanent seats). Used for opera performances by the annual "Bregenzer Festspiele" summer festival.

• Festspielhaus: Built 1980 by Willy Braun jr. Opened 18 July 1980 with a symphonic concert. First opera performance on 24 July 1980 with Verdi's "Falstaff". 1992-1997 extensions by Helmut Dietrich and Much Untertrifaller. Up to 1765 seats. Used for opera performances and concerts by the annual "Bregenzer Festspiele" summer festival. Also used for ballet performances by the annual dance festival "Bregenzer Frühling" in spring, and for concerts and conventions throughout the year. 2005-2006 exterior and interior renovations and rebuilding by Dietrich/Untertrifaller Architekten. Re-opened 7 July 2006.

• Werkstattbühne: Rehearsal stage and flexible performance space, built 1992-1997 by Helmut Dietrich and Much Untertrifaller. Opened 1998 with G. F. Haas's opera "Nacht". Capacity: up to 2000 persons. Used for opera, ballet, and drama performances, and for concerts during the annual "Bregenzer Festspiele" summer festival. Also used for popular concerts and various events throughout the year.

Notable world premieres:

• Robert Stolz: Trauminsel (at Seebühne, 21 July 1962)
• Helmut Eder: Die Irrfahrten des Odysseus (at Seebühne, 11 Aug 1965)
• Robert Stolz: Hochzeit am Bodensee (at Seebühne, 23 July 1969)
• Georg Friedrich Haas: Nacht (staged premiere, at Werkstattbühne, 7 Aug 1998)
• Bohuslav Martinu: Recké pasije ("The Greek Passion", 1st version, at Festspielhaus, 20 Aug 1999)
• Georg Friedrich Haas: die schöne wunde (at Werkstattbühne, 14 Aug 2003)

Link: www.bregenzerfestspiele.com, www.bregenzerkunstverein.at

see also: Postcards of Bregenz Seebühne Stage Sets