Salzburg Festival: history and repertoire, 1922–1926 Mozart for the first season — the three Da Ponte operas and "Die Entführung aus dem Serail" [The Abduction from the Seraglio]. In the founding years the festival did not have the means to produce entire opera productions. So Strauss and Schalk brought the settings, the singers, the orchestra and the chorus from Vienna State Opera to Salzburg. The press critically noted that the opera program of the festival constituted ″the summer residence of Vienna State Opera″. Nevertheless, the performances were superb due to the orchestra, the chorus and the great singers. They came from all over Europa and created
Davis Cunningham Prince Anatole in "War and Peace", Pelléas in "Pelléas et Mélisande", and Belmonte in "The Abduction from the Seraglio". In 1960 he portrayed Mario Cavaradossi in "Tosca" for an ABC television production. On Dec 27, 1954 he portrayed Michele in the world premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti's "The Saint of Bleecker Street" on Broadway. In 1954, Cunningham joined the roster of principal tenors at the New York City Opera, where he first appeared in the title role of "The Tales of Hoffmann" in 1954. His other roles with the company included Rodolfo in "La bohème" (1954), Prince Ramiro in "La