Roxane Duran becomes the new Buhlschaft at the Salzburg Festival

In 2026, she will follow in the third year of the "Jedermann" production by Canadian Robert Carsen as the companion of protagonist Philipp Hochmair, succeeding Deleila Piasko, who embodied this role for two seasons. This was announced on Tuesday in Vienna.

It will be the first German-speaking theater role for the bilingual daughter of an Austrian, who recalled "summers during my school years" that "were shaped by the Salzburg Festival." She had never seen "Jedermann," "but never thought that one could do it as a half-Frenchwoman," she said at the presentation and expressed being "very honored" by the offer, which Carsen made to her a few weeks ago at a meeting in Milan, where he was directing "Così fan tutte" at La Scala. Carsen, who is currently "outside of Europe," sent a written statement read by dramaturg David Tushingham. "She was an actress he had already had on his radar for a while," assured Tushingham. "Which roles he had seen, I unfortunately cannot say."

Roxane Duran: First Role in "The White Ribbon"

It could have been "The White Ribbon" by Michael Haneke. In the film shot in 2008, Duran had her first film role at the age of 15 and left a lasting impression in this award-winning "German children's story" as the doctor's daughter. She herself highlighted her title role as Anne Frank in Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt's adaptation of the diary, which she played in 2012/13 at the Theatre Rive Gauche in Paris and on tours. Later, she was nominated for the French theater prize "Molière" as best newcomer. Her resume also includes numerous film and television roles, most recently, according to Tushingham, she was seen as a mysterious chess player in the "Tatort" episode "Zugzwang." She also appears in the series "Vienna Game," soon to be shown on Disney+. "I was incredibly lucky to always have very interesting roles," said the upcoming Buhlschaft, who is very much looking forward to working with Carsen, Hochmair, and the entire team. She wants to play the role "of course as long as possible" - but for now, enjoy this summer, "and then we'll see."

At the press conference, "three new women in the life of Jedermann 2026" were presented. The other two are Daniela Ziegler, who takes over the role of Jedermann's mother from Andrea Jonasson, and Sylvie Rohrer in the dual role of A Poor Neighbor / Works, which was played by Kathleen Morgeneyer in 2025. Both also receive a one-year contract.

Ziegler After Consideration: "Yes, I'll Do It!"

While Burgtheater actress Rohrer recounted that she had "not been asked for the first time," but had other plans at the time ("The second attempt worked now!"), Ziegler freely admitted that she had inquired about this role through her agency. Under director Gerard Mortier, she had already wanted to join the festival once, but it did not happen, now "a cornucopia of lifetime achievement awards" is being showered upon her, which made her feel "old enough" to apply for the vacant mother role. After a very intense video call, Carsen actually offered her the role, but confessed that he had shortened the role in his production by her last appearance. She tried in vain to persuade Carsen, then requested time to consider, the 77-year-old confidently recounted. "After three days, I said: Yes, I'll do it! I'll do it now as it is - and I'm looking forward to it."

Philipp Hochmair also expressed anticipation for "new, fresh impulses" for the production and his interpretation, who stepped in as Jedermann in five performances in 2018 for the ailing Tobias Moretti and has been embodying the title role in the Carsen production since 2024. The premiere of "Jedermann" with the partially new cast will be on July 18, 2026. 14 more performances are planned, said Tushingham. The rest of the program for the next edition will be announced by the Salzburg Festival on December 4.

(APA/Red)

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