Salzburg Festival opens on eve of 1914 anniversary

The Salzburg Festival, despite looming financial worries, got off to a thundering start on Sunday with an opera by the city's favorite son Mozart, kicking off a monthlong program of culture and glamor.

Don Giovanni, directed by the festival's theater director Sven-Eric Bechtolf, met with rousing applause for its sleek production set in 1920s pre-fascist Spain.

The festival's opening was attended by Austrian President Heinz Fischer, who recalled that Sunday marked the eve of the day 100 years ago, when Austria-Hungary signed its declaration of war against Serbia, setting off the train of events that led to World War I.