International May Festival Wiesbaden

After the Bayreuth Festival, the Wiesbaden International May Festival is the oldest in Germany. The International May Festival takes place every year at the Hessian State Theater in Wiesbaden. It was founded in 1896 by the then director Georg von Hülsen.

The idea for the May Festival goes back to the Richard Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, which had been held annually since 1876. After the opening of the new state theater in 1894, the artistic director Georg von Hülsen took up the idea.

After the Second World War, the May Festival was resumed in 1950. The new name, International May Festival, was also associated with a new artistic concept, in which important foreign theaters were invited to the festival. The Friends of the International May Festival support the festival financially every year. The program consists of opera and drama productions by renowned ensembles as well as excellent ballet and dance performances, concerts, readings and gala evenings of opera with outstanding singers. Productions for children and young people are presented in the Young Week, which has been an integral part of the May Festival program for many years. The artistic director of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden is responsible for the program selection.

In 1952, the festival was one of the founding organizations of the European Festivals Association.