| Salzburg Easter Festival Osterfestspiele Salzburg | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Begins | Palm Sunday weekend (moveable) |
| Ends | Easter Monday (moveable) |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Venue | Salzburg Grand Festival Theatre International Mozarteum Foundation Felsenreitschule |
| Location(s) | Salzburg, Austria |
| Inaugurated | 1967 |
| Founder | Herbert von Karajan |
| Leader | Nikolaus Bachler |
| Website | www |
The Salzburg Easter Festival (German: Osterfestspiele Salzburg, sometimes OFS) is a classical music and opera festival held every year over the extended week before Easter (Holy Week) in Salzburg, Austria since 1967.
It was created by the conductor Herbert von Karajan, and for most of its history featured the Berlin Philharmonic, of which Karajan was chief conductor; his successors in Berlin, Claudio Abbado and Simon Rattle, succeeded him in Salzburg as well. The orchestra and Rattle left in 2013, and were replaced between 2013 and 2022 by the Dresden Staatskapelle and Christian Thielemann. It has been announced that the Berlin Philharmonic would return as the resident orchestra in 2026, with its chief conductor Kirill Petrenko. Since 2022, the artistic director has been Nikolaus Bachler.
Each edition includes the production of an opera and a series of orchestral and choral concerts, as well as a complementary programme of performances in other formats.
The Easter Festival is independent from the organization which produces the (summertime) Salzburg Festival and the Salzburg Whitsun Festival.