Summer in Europe is the season of opera festivals. And the event held at the unique venue of St. Margarethen—often hailed as Austria's Arena di Verona—ranks among the most celebrated.

The Roman quarry of St. Margarethen is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The very sandstone extracted here two millennia ago was used to build the ancient city of Carnuntum and, later, Vienna's magnificent St. Stephen's Cathedral.

This open-air stage is encircled by towering cliffs, sculpted by both nature and the hands of quarrymen with the artistry of master set designers. And what a canvas for those designers to work upon—Austrians jest that even Zeffirelli would pale with envy. Here rise multi-tiered temples and palaces, sphinxes, castles, all bathed in the breathtaking glow of torchlight illumination.

The sheer scale of the stage dictates another distinctive feature of the festival: the inclusion of animals. Not merely those paraded for ambient effect, but galloping horses pulling chariots and elephants roaming freely. It is a spectacle to take the breath away of even the most discerning critics (and the auditorium, holding some five thousand souls, holds many).

Each year, over 220,000 spectators journey to St. Margarethen to revel in the vocal and orchestral mastery of the world's foremost performers, the sublime acoustics, and the unparalleled stagecraft. For here, the wings and the theatrical foyer are nature itself!