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In addition to the summer opera “La Bohème,” the centerpiece of the 2027 season, Artistic Director Clemens Unterreiner presents a high-caliber selection of unique cultural experiences as part of KulturBURG, running from spring through autumn. A varied lineup of open-air events across different genres, from pop and folk music to cabaret, perfectly complements the program of EventBURG.
From 10 to 31 July 2027, the Austrian festival presents La Bohème, bringing the romance, youthful energy, and bittersweet emotions of nineteenth-century Paris to the castle’s atmospheric open-air stage.
Puccini’s masterpiece follows the artists Rodolfo and Mimì through moments of exuberant friendship, love, hope, and loss. At Burg Gars, the music is accompanied by the surrounding landscape and historic architecture, giving the production an especially intimate character.
The result is a summer opera experience with a distinctive sense of place: Puccini’s unforgettable melodies, the atmosphere of a medieval castle, and performances under the Austrian evening sky. Oper Burg Gars 2027 offers an elegant way to discover La Bohème away from the conventional opera house, where music, history, and the landscape of the Waldviertel become part of the experience.
About the Oper Burg Gars
At the end of the 1980s, and in 1990 the first major opera production was realized in Burg Gars. From then on, under the direction of the director and manager Karel Drgáč, the opera was performed every summer under the name “Opern-Air” in Gars Castle.
In 2012 there was a reorganization; Burg Gars GmbH, meanwhile wholly owned by the market town of Gars am Kamp, was founded as the sponsoring company and took over responsibility for what was going on in the castle.
In 2013, Dr. Johannes Wildner, one of the leading Austrian conductors, is the artistic director of the festival. The former director of the Vienna Volksoper, Rudolf Berger, completed the new tour as managing director. The new directorship started in Gars 2014 with “Der Freischütz” by Carl Maria von Weber, followed by “Don Carlo” in 2015, “Otello” in 2016, “Die Zauberflöte” in 2017, “Tosca” in 2018 and “Fidelio” in 2019.
Thanks to a clear positioning, the highest artistic demands and Johannes Wildner's incomparable enthusiasm, since 2014 more and more viewers have been able to attract more audiences to the Waldviertel Opera House. With the number of visitors growing from year to year, the importance of the castle as a summer venue also increased. The program was expanded to include a wide variety of concerts, exhibitions, readings and cabaret evenings. The season now ranges from the wine blessing on Easter Monday to the Babenberger Festival on November 15, with a special focus on offers for children.
