Feuilleton

Tamara Štajner’s “Luft nach unten”: A Powerful Novel on Mother-Daughter Trauma and Balkan Roots

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Tamara Štajner Explores Motherhood and Balkan Trauma in ‘Luft nach unten’ In her critically acclaimed second novel, «Luft nach unten» (published by Zsolnay in 2026), author, musician, and performer Tamara Štajner delivers a multi-layered exploration of a destructive mother-daughter relationship, transgenerational trauma, and the long shadows of the former Yugoslavia, according to reviews from major … Read more

Clash of Opera Visions: Battle for the Stage at the Salzburg Festival 2026

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The Salzburger Festspiele has once again stepped into the theatrical arena with competing opera concepts that directly challenge one another on stage. According to festival reports and cultural correspondents covering the historic Austrian event, this clash of starkly different directorial visions and artistic interpretations has generated intense debate among critics and audiences alike. Operating in … Read more

Olivier Messiaen’s Saint François d’Assise at the Salzburg Festival: An Existential Masterpiece

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The Salzburg Festival marks the 800th anniversary of the death of Francis of Assisi with a major new staging of Olivier Messiaen’s monumental opera Saint François d’Assise, offering audiences a rare, meditative endurance experience that stretches across more than six hours of performance time. According to cultural festival programmers, the production transforms the sprawling Felsenreitschule … Read more

Daniel Glattauer on Love, Bestseller Success, and His Brother’s Suicide

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Daniel Glattauer’s bestselling epistolary novel Gut gegen Nordwind (Love Virtually) achieved international literary success through email exchanges, yet the Austrian author remains notoriously reticent about standard media interviews, frequently preferring written correspondence over face-to-face scrutiny. Released in 2006, the novel about the accidental digital romance between Leo Leike and Emmi Rothner captivated readers across Europe … Read more