Salzburg ‘will lose millions when Pereira leaves’
mainHelga Rabl-Stadler, the festival president, has painted a gloomy picture of the festival’s finances after the end of the present season, Alexander Pereira’s last as director.
She said: ‘There are sponsors that Pereira (pictured) brought in who will probably not stay.’ Their departure will cost the festival at least one million Euros in 2015 and more in the years ahead.
She added that a lawsuit by anti-smoking activists over Salzburg’s sponsorship by tobacco giant JTI will cost the festival a further 600,000 and jeopardise its modern opera programme.
It’s a sombre curtain-raiser for this year’s festivities.
What a curious situation! A Festival administrator leaves and sponsors he has brought in may also depart? I wonder why that should be? How is it the sponsors are more loyal to the the administrator than to the Festival itself?