Salzburg Festival

One phone call was enough for the Hollywood star

Hinterhäuser (right) brought film star Waltz to Salzburg.(Bild: Jordan Strauss, Andreas Tröster)

Christoph Waltz, two-time Oscar winner and winner of two Golden Globes, will be appearing at the Salzburg Festival in 2025. But how did this sensation come about? Artistic Director Markus Hinterhäuser explained "his" coup in a child-friendly way. 

Many people might even have overlooked it in their haste to leaf through the program book. Yet it is the biggest name that has been part of the Salzburg Festival line-up in recent years: Christoph Waltz!

The two-time Oscar winner and winner of two Golden Globes for Best Supporting Actor in the films "Inglourious Basterds" (2010) and "Django Unchained" (2013) will be appearing in the Grosses Festspielhaus on July 27 and 28. As narrator of Igor Stravinsky's opera-oratorio "Oedipus Rex" as part of the Overture Spirituelle. A real coup - but how did it come about? 

"We like each other"
It wasn't that complicated, said Artistic Director Markus Hinterhäuser, who launched into a child-friendly explanation. He knew Waltz very well and had been in contact with him for many years.

We have known each other for many years, are in contact and like each other. I have his phone number and a cell phone. I can call him. It's really easy.

Intendant Markus Hinterhäuser über die Verpflichtung von Christoph Waltz.

Sometimes he even meets him on the street - in Vienna or Berlin. And more importantly: "We like each other. I have his phone number and a cell phone, we can communicate with each other, it's that easy," said the artistic director.

Hinterhäuser underlined Waltz's love for the festival. This love was the decisive factor for the telephone call. After all, he never calls anyone who has animosity towards the cultural festival.