The Alpine town of Bregenz, on the shores of Lake Constance, is a charming venue for this informal festival and we attend the opera in the Festspielhaus Congress Hall and looking at the spectacular open air 'floating stage'. The old town, with its 18th century houses and narrow cobbled streets, stands inside its old city walls on top of the hill, while the more modern town with its lakeside promenade is our base. While in Bregenz, there is an opportunity for an excursion on the lake and also to the fortified town of Ravensburg, Weingarten with its Abbey Church, Birnan with its rococo church and Meersburg from where there is a splendid view of Lake Constance.

The highlight of this year’s festival is the new production of Andrea Chenier to be performed on Bregenz’s magnificent floating stage on Lake Constance.