Poles at Salzburg Festival

Final rehearsals leading up to Sunday's premiere of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 'Don Giovanni' during the Salzburg Festival, 24 July 2014, in Salzburg, Austria. The festival runs from 18 July to 31 August. Photo: PAP/EPA/FRANZ NEUMAYR

Bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny has appeared as Il Commendatore in a new production of Mozart’s ‘Don Giovanni’, with Christoph Eschenbach conducting.

Sunday’s premiere will be followed by six more performances, on 30 July and 3,6,12,15 and 18 August.

Konieczny’s appearance in ‘Don Giovanni’ marks his return to Salzburg after his highly-acclaimed debut two years ago in Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s ‘The Soldiers’ and, according to critics, confirms his reputation as one of Europe’s leading bass-baritones. Konieczny is currently a soloist of Vienna’s Staatsoper.

Meanwhile, the tenor Piotr Beczała has been a regular guest star on the operatic stage of the Salzburg Festival in recent years.

During this edition of the Festival, he is to give a recital on 17 August including songs by Dvorak, Schumann, Rachmaninoff and the Polish composer Mieczysław Karłowicz (1876-1909).

Beczała appears regularly at the Met and the most prestigious venues in Europe. Two years ago he signed an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon. (mk/jb)