Ferdinand Wögerbauer
Biography
Born in Adnet, Land Salzburg, Ferdinand Wögerbauer began his formal education in sculpture at HTL Hallein and continued his studies in set and costume design at the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg. Early in his career, he assisted renowned designers J. Rose, R. Glittenberg, and D. Fotopoulos, gaining invaluable experience that shaped his approach to stage design.
Since 1985, and continuously from 1992 until May 2003, he was a regular contributor to the Salzburg Festival, serving as assistant designer, deputy head of design, and later as head of design. His creative work spans multiple media, including stone, wood, paper, and mural painting. He has also taught as a lecturer at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Lecce (2021/2022) and Urbino (2023/2024).
He has been involved in numerous exhibition designs, including the 70th anniversary of Jedermann at the Salzburg Festival, a historical exhibition on the Salzburg Festival in Bologna, world premiere installations at the Salzburg Festival, and gallery projects such as Galerie The Only One in Rohrbach, Fuatfoahn installations, and group exhibitions like Bild und Szene 5 in Meiningen (2007). He also contributed to the 2020 Landesausstellung celebrating 100 years of the Salzburg Festival.
In production management, he has worked on events including the Salzburg Easter Festival at the Edinburgh International Festival (2002), realized sets for Pelléas et Mélisande in Lyon (2004), and contributed to Salzburg Festival productions in 2004, 2005, 2019, and 2024, as well as international tours to Tokyo, Tel Aviv, and elsewhere.
His extensive stage design work encompasses opera, theater, and ballet, collaborating with acclaimed directors and choreographers such as Achim Benning, Jürgen Flimm, P.V. Maldeghen, Klaus Metzger, Andrea Moses, John Neumeier (Hamburg Ballet), Christian Nickel, Peter Stein, Bob Swaim, Stefano Vizioli, and Stephen Wadsworth. Productions include classics such as La Sonnambula, Alpenkönig und Menschenfeind, Messiah, Orpheus, Don Giovanni, Troilus and Cressida, Eugene Onegin, Macbeth, Die Zauberflöte, Le Nozze di Figaro, Boris Godunow, and numerous contemporary premieres and international collaborations across major venues from Hamburg, Berlin, Milan, Paris, Rome, Moscow, Chicago, and New York to Salzburg, Edinburgh, and beyond.
Recognized for his visionary designs, he has received multiple awards, including the Premio Le Maschere del Teatro Italiano for Best Scenographer, and has been repeatedly nominated for the Golden Mask and other prestigious honors. His career reflects a remarkable blend of technical mastery, artistic innovation, and international influence in theater, opera, and ballet.