What makes the Salzburg Marionette Theatre different from other theatres? – On the stage, the marionettes are the protagonists, and the people are behind – or rather, above it all. Because, while down on the stage these finely-crafted marionettes perform plays, fairy-tales, musicals and operas, it's the skilled puppeteers two metres above them who guide all their movements with a special technique, each on 12 strings. The puppeteers, who have mastered this unique method, bring the marionettes to miraculous life.
This special performance technique, has been declared a cultural asset worthy of preservation, as the "most highly developed form of puppet and figure theatre", earning the Salzburg Marionette Theatre a place in the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The historic production of Mozart's early opera returns to the stage of the Salzburg Marionette Theatre for the 2025 Mozart Week, featuring Günther Schneider-Siemssen's distinctive original set design.
First festival PUPPETS! – a great success!
To mark its 111th anniversary, the Salzburg Marionette Theatre gave itself a great present with the first PUPPETS!-festival. Many visitors were delighted to join the celebrations. Over the past few days, an ever-growing fan base has enjoyed the various productions in the Toihaus Theatre, the Theater im KunstQuartier, the Kammerspiele and the Marionettentheater and has been able to experience how diverse, surprising and touching the string marionette can be.