[Photo/AFP]

One eagerly awaited creation is Charlotte Salomon by French composer Marc-Andre Dalbavie, which retells the story of a young German artist deported and killed in Auschwitz in 1943.

The opera, directed by acclaimed Swiss director Luc Bondy, premieres on Monday.

Plays on the war theme include a new creation by British playwright Duncan Macmillan The Forbidden Zone, and Karl Kraus' The Last Days of Mankind.

"In commemoration of a horrible war, the World War I, we want to show that people, mankind, have other things to offer than war," Christoph Eschenbach－music director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, who also directed Sunday's Don Giovanni－said ahead of the opening night.

"Art and especially music wants to abolish war, abolish the confrontation of people, the killing of people. It wants to bring people together."

Not just opera and theater but close to 100 concert performances, from Ludwig van Beethoven and Anton Bruckner to more modern creations are on the program for the next month.

Under artistic director Alexander Pereira who leaves this year, the festival sought to bring in new life, including Buddhist, Jewish or Muslim music, alongside the more classical fare.

"The festival is open to new music, it's not a crusty thing," Eschenbach insists.

Last year, more than 287,000 people attended the festival－a new record.