The festival was founded in 1993 by Alexander Hermann and Sonja Fletzberger and takes place in July and August. Since 1998 it has been under the direction of Michael Garschall.
In contrast to other Austrian summer festivals, the Klosterneuburg Opera follows a moderately modern line in its productions. The directors who have worked here include Max Augenfeld, Nikolaus Büchel [de], François de Carpentries [de], Michael Garschall, Isabella Gregor, Andy Hallwaxx, Alexander Hauer, Jens-Daniel Herzog, Gernot Kranner [de] (children's versions), Markus Kupferblum, Matthias Lutz, Henry Mason [de] and Julian Pölsler, Michael Scheidl [de], Karl M. Sibelius, Kurt Sobotka [de], Matthias von Stegmann, Alexander Waechter [de]. The comparatively sparse furnishings are closely matched to the existing architecture. The natural acoustics of the Abbey courtyard enable singing without amplification or other technical manipulation. For numerous soloists, a performance at the festival was a springboard to an international career.[1]
Initially, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra under Konstantin Schenk, Andreas Stöhr and Matthias Fletzberger was the main orchestra. Since 2000, the Sinfonietta Baden (since 2017 Beethoven Philharmonie [de], which has performed under various conductors - including Guido Mancusi (1997 to 2000), Thomas Rösner (2001 to 2003, 2014), Andrés Orozco-Estrada (2004 to 2007), Enrico Calesso [de] (2008 to 2010), Vinzenz Praxmarer [de] (2011) and Christoph Campestrini (2012, 2013, since 2015) - have been involved.[2]
2018 La traviata by Verdi (among others with Eugenia Dushina, Arthur Espiritu, Günter Haumer, Christiane Döcker, Oscar Rubén Oré Alarcón, Apostol Milenkov, Alexander Grassauer, Florian Köfler, Florina Ilie)
2019 The Tales of Hoffmann by Offenbach (among others with Florina Ilie, Daniela Fally, Zurab Zurabishvili, Clemens Unterreiner)
2021 La forza del destino[4] by Verdi (among others with Karina Flores, Margarita Gritskova, Anja Mittermüller, Zurab Zurabishvili, David Babayants, Matheus França, Marian Pop, Walter Fink)