By Simona Kitanovska

The head of the prestigious Salzburg Festival has been forced out after a dramatic falling-out involving sackings, legal battles and allegations of misconduct.

Markus Hinterhauser, artistic director of the Salzburg Festival, has stepped down with immediate effect and will remain on leave until his contract expires at the end of September.

His abrupt departure brings to a head a bitter saga that has been simmering behind the scenes for years.

The controversy can be traced back to October 2023, when the entire team behind the festival’s flagship play Jedermann was blindsided by plans for a complete overhaul despite existing contracts being in place.

Matters escalated in November 2024 when the festival’s head of drama, Marina Davydova, was suddenly sacked over alleged breaches of contract. The decision was later settled out of court, but tensions continued to rise.

In March 2025, Hinterhauser suffered a blow in court after losing a legal case against a journalist, who had accused him of trying to silence critics.

The crisis deepened later that year when Davydova publicly accused her former boss of shouting at her - a claim that raised eyebrows given the cultural world’s ongoing reckoning with workplace behaviour.

Several employees reportedly claimed that Hinterhauser had insulted and verbally abused people for years during his tenure as artistic director.

By early 2026, relations with the festival’s supervisory board had deteriorated sharply. Behind closed doors, concerns were growing over his leadership style and decision-making, with insiders warning that trust was “running out”.

Despite a show of support from high-profile artists and writers, including Nobel Prize winners, the damage appeared to be done.

The board had even considered extending his contract, but only under strict conditions. Talks dragged on for weeks without resolution, and earlier this month (March), the position was quietly put out to tender.

Now, following talks with lawyers, both sides have agreed he will step aside, marking the end of his tenure.

An interim replacement will be appointed while the search begins for a new artistic director to lead the world-famous festival into its next chapter.