Film Festival at Vienna’s Rathausplatz
It is one of the most popular summer events in the heart of the city and Europe's biggest culture and food festival: The Film Festival at Rathausplatz founded in 1991 and located between Vienna City Hall and the Ringstrasse boulevard. This year again, it will draw hundreds of thousands of fans of good music and food to City Hall Square – with free admission on all evenings.
Music, food, partying
Outstanding music productions, social meeting point, and enjoyment of the highest quality – the Film Festival provides all that in a magical place in the heart of the city. We're looking forward to a program of superlatives in 2023. There is something for everyone when productions from all sorts of genres flicker across the 300 square-meter screen every evening. The food area invites you to go on a culinary journey around the world: 26 gourmet booths serve freshly cooked dishes from around the world from 11.00 am to 12.00 midnight.
Pop, rock, jazz: Lady Gaga to Marvin Gaye
The Grammy prize-winner Gregory Porter, popstar Rita Ora, pop-rock band One Republic and "Unholy" singer Sam Smith are just some of the many exceptional artists to provide a bunch of emotions at the Film Festival. Sting is on the program, as are Pink Floyd, Bob Marley, the Black Eyed Peas, the "Prince of Motown" Marvin Gaye and the jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter, who passed away in March of this year. Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett deliver softer jazz sounds with Cheek To Cheek.
Queen fans can also look forward to a special highlight: A few months after Freddy Mercury's death, Metallica, Annie Lennox, Elton John, David Bowie, and many others came together at a moving tribute concert.
Austropop fans can get ready for an evening with Seiler & Speer. And in memory of Falco, who died 25 years ago this year, the Film Festival at Rathausplatz shows his first and only concert with orchestral accompaniment, Falco Symphonic.
Opera with Yende and Flórez
While the Vienna State Opera enjoys its summer recess, nine of its top-flight productions can be marveled at during the Film Festival at Vienna City Hall Square. Highlights: Giacomo Puccini's operas Tosca and La Bohème (with Anna Netrebko), Giuseppe Verdi's Falstaff, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. Audience darling Juan Diego Flórez sparkles alongside the enchanting Pretty Yende in Verdi's La Traviata and Charles Gounod's Faust.
Even more opera comes from the Theater an der Wien: Ludwig van Beethoven's Fidelio, lavishly produced in 2020 by Oscar prize-winner Christoph Waltz, and Leoš Janáček's Das schlaue Füchslein (produced by: Stefan Herheim).
The Vienna State Ballet demonstrates its diversity with Tchaikovski's classic Swan Lake (choreography: Rudolf Nureyev) and Edvard Grieg's modern dance piece Peer Gynt (choreography: Edward Clug).
Classics from all over Austria
The culture broadcaster ORF III presents six topical evenings with high-class stage experiences from all over Austria on the screen of the Film Festival:
- Classical stars at Traunsee: live (with a time delay) from the Salzkammergut Festival Gmunden (with Adrian Eröd and Stephen Gould)
- Classics in the Alps: Open-air gala from Kitzbühel (with Elīna Garanča)
- Robert Stolz's operetta Frühjahrsparade live (with a time delay) from the Bühne Baden stage
- Intl. Baroque Days Melk Abbey: Georg Philipp Telemann's Der Tag des Gerichts (with Michael Schade)
- Concert Jazz on a Summer's Day by Viktor Gernot and Simone Kopmayer
- Bregenz Festival: Giuseppe Verdi's opera Ernani
Another tip from the classical program: Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, who is celebrating her 60th birthday, revives the best-known sounds of the film music icon John Williams.
The Film Festival at Rathausplatz also presents artists who deal with climate change in music: The German cellist Tanja Tetzlaff plays Bach suites in Suites For a Suffering World and 14 orchestras from around the world brings Vivaldi's The Four Seasons into the 21st century with The [uncertain] four Seasons.
Musical: Gershwin and Fendrich
George Gershwin, who was born 125 years ago, used his composition An American in Paris as the basis for the 1951 musical of the same name, which can be seen at this year's Film Festival. Quite different is the style and sound of the jukebox musical I am from Austria with the Austropop hits by Rainhard Fendrich, which premiered at the Raimund Theater in 2017.
Side events
The performances of the Children's Opera Festival commence every Friday at 5.00 pm. Before that, the youngest ones have the chance to romp around in the active program of "Bewegung findet Stadt" at City Hall Park.
A live DJ serves up a good sound in the food area (Th-Sa evenings). Two (live!) concert evenings are planned in cooperation with Kultursommer Wien (July 15: brass music, July 16: choral evening).
33rd Film Festival at Vienna's Rathausplatz 2023
July 1 – September 3, 2023 (daily)
Film starts at nightfall
Food and drink: 11.00 am – 12.00 midnight
Admission is free!
www.filmfestival-rathausplatz.at
Music Film Festival at Vienna City Hall Square 2021
City Hall Square
1010 Vienna
