Vienna opera house. Vienna State Opera: history, photo, repertoire. Urgent need for a special building

Pearl European culture especially musical, is the Vienna State Opera, which is in the top three along with La Scala (Milan) and Covent Garden (London).

The focus of musical geniuses

The current one was the center of development musical direction, known as the "Viennese Classical School", the main representatives of which were Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. Vienna is undoubtedly the most important center of world culture in general, but especially of music. And the embodiment of this statement, like nothing else, is the Vienna State Opera.

The capital of Austria since the middle of the 17th century has been the center of operatic art, and since the 16th century, the court of the multinational state of the Habsburgs has been located here.

Urgent need for a special building

The Court Opera, which arose here, was originally located in various buildings, for example, in 1748 - in the Burgtheater, from 1763 - in the Kärntnertorteatre. But the need for opera among the inhabitants was so immeasurable, and the importance attached to it was so great that in the second half of the 19th century, the authorities decided to erect a special building that could house the Court Opera on a permanent basis. And in 1861 construction began. The opera house is being built according to the design of the famous Viennese architects Eduard van der Nüll (participated in the construction of the Vienna Arsenal) and August Sicard von Sicardsburg. The work was completed in 1869, and the current Vienna State Opera (until 1819, the year of the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire - the Court Opera) opened with a production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera Don Giovanni.

A symbol of the splendor of the era

The Staatsoper (Die Wiener Staatsoper) was destroyed in 1945 by bombing. It was restored in 1955. A year later, the tradition of holding the famous Vienna Opera Balls was resumed.

In memory of the “Ere Ringstrasse”, or the brilliant time of the reign of the Habsburgs, which he himself described as “an era of splendor and splendor”, which began from the moment the wedding of Marie-Louise - the daughter of Emperor Franz I - with Napoleon, which took place in 1810, until the fall of Great Austria Hungarian Empire in 1918. These balls are listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage. The first of these took place on December 11, 1877. The younger brother of the famous Johann Strauss Eduard conducted the orchestra. The most brilliant period of the Habsburg rule dates back to the moment of radical restructuring of the center of Vienna, when in two years the central Ringstrasse was laid, the grand opening of which took place on May 1, 1865, and then the huge Staatsoper building was built.

Building parameters

Vienna state opera, whose history was resumed after a ten-year break and a long restoration on May 11, 1955, began its new creative life performance of Beethoven's opera Fidelio. Artistic director Theater became Herbert von Karajan. The height of the restored building, made in the Neo-Renaissance style, is 65 meters, the hall is designed for 1709 seats. All the given data show that Staatsoper is the largest Opera theatre Austria.

Main attraction

It is difficult to overestimate its significance for the inhabitants of Vienna - they are even sure that they can feel real spirit Vienna can only be visited by visiting the opera house. Everything has been done for this - for people who do not like this type of art, there are daily 45-minute excursions to the opera house, they start at 13-00, ticket prices vary from 2 to 5 euros.

Tourists are offered a tapestry foyer and a grand staircase, a tea room of Emperor Franz Joseph and a marble hall. Of course, visitors see the huge magnificent auditorium and the hall of G. Mahler and the foyer of Moritz von Schwind.

most famous director

The names of composers are associated with Vienna, not only those mentioned above. The names of Schubert and Brahms, Gluck and Mahler are inseparable from this city, as well as musical dynasty Strauss. A lot of musical geniuses past and present were related to the Vienna Opera. I would especially like to mention Gustav Mahler, who for 10 years (1898-1908) was the director of the Staatsoper and, devoting himself entirely to work in this field, was forced to forget that he was also brilliant composer, And talented singer. It was during the period of his directorship that Tchaikovsky's operas The Queen of Spades, Iolanta and Eugene Onegin were first staged on the famous stage.

In addition to him, throughout the existence Vienna Opera its directors were Bruno Walter and Clement Kraus and Wilhelm Furtwängler, Karl Böhm and Lorin Matzel. The Vienna State Opera, along with the building of the Austrian Parliament and monuments to Mozart and Strauss, is one of the main attractions of the capital of this state.

External and internal decoration

What does this great building look like? Five bronze statues stand out on the richly decorated facade, personifying the muses patronizing the art of opera - these are Heroism and Love, Drama, Comedy and Fantasy. The author of these five sculptures is Ernst Henel.

The magnificent sculptures of the Muses are clearly visible from the windows of the Moritz Schwind foyer on the second floor. On the walls of this front foyer, fragments of the famous Singspiel opera (musical and dramatic genre, or “play with singing”) by Mozart “The Magic Flute” are imprinted.

The sad pages of the construction of the opera building

The subject of admiration for the inhabitants and guests of the Austrian capital - the Vienna State Opera (photo of the building is attached) in the second half of the 19th century was subjected to such harsh criticism, including from the Kaiser, that one of the authors of the project, the architect Vann der Noll, could not stand it, hanged himself.

And two months later, another co-author of the project, August Sikkardsburg, also died of a heart attack. It seems that this was not criticism, but harassment. The massive building, which at first offended the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe city's inhabitants about the "elegant" excess of stucco and sculptures, is the Vienna State Opera, the history of which was marked by such tragic events.

Great Contributors

But acoustic properties the buildings were originally magnificent and perfect! The interior of the opera is admirable. The foyer on the second floor is decorated with paintings by the artist Moritz von Schwind. The author of the sculptures framing the famous one is Josef Gasser. There are seven of them, all of them are allegories of fine arts. On the topmost platform there are beautiful frescoes created by Johann Preleitner.

Brilliantly selected repertoire

Of course, both then and now, the Vienna State Opera is a global phenomenon. Her repertoire includes more than 50 productions, which makes it possible famous theater perform daily productions throughout the season, which lasts 10 months a year. It should be noted that the repertoire is very diverse, there are also modern productions, but the Staatsoper is the keeper of the traditions of the Vienna music school- classics are always present (for example, in February this year there were performances of Massenet's Manon and Rossini's The Barber of Seville), and his calling card are opera masterpieces Mozart. Comprehensive data on the repertoire, with detailed daily placement of performances for all 10 months, with indications of performers and conductors, are widely available.

Ticket price and address

Ticket prices vary from 11 to 240 euros. However, there are lodges where seats are valued in the thousands of euros. Standing places are offered for any performance (there are more than 100 of them), tickets for which are sold an hour before the performance, and they cost from 2.5 euros. To attend a performance of the legendary Vienna Opera, but not pay big money for admission ticket, you can take advantage of listening to productions of category "B" (everyday performances with sparing prices). The Vienna State Opera, whose address (Opernring, 2) is known to every musician in the world, is located in the center, and you can get to it both by metro (lines U1, U2, U3, Karlsplatz stop), trams (No. 1, 2, 62, 65 and D) and bus 59A.

We are pleased to offer theater fans the organization of tours and services for booking tickets to the Vienna Opera.

Vienna State Opera- the largest opera house in the world, the center musical culture Austria. The building of the Vienna Opera House is a monument of architecture; it stands out for its sophisticated external decor and rich interior decoration.

On the stage of the Vienna Opera, classical operas and ballets are staged, vocal parts and symphonic works are performed. Every year, the world famous takes place within the walls of the Vienna Opera. More than a hundred couples in evening dresses and tailcoats open this ball. The honorary chairman of the ball is the President of Austria.

History of the Vienna Opera

In the middle of the 17th century, the first opera performances of the Italian troupe took place at the court of the Austrian emperor. It is to this period that the emergence of the Vienna Opera is attributed. The basis of the repertoire was made up of Italian operas. From the 2nd half of the 17th century, opera performances performed by the Austrian court troupe were performed on the stages of various theaters.

Since the middle of the 18th century, the activity of the court opera troupe has been associated with the development of the national opera style. Operas by W. A. ​​Mozart (The Abduction from the Seraglio, 1782), I. Umlauf (The Miners, 1778, etc.) and others are staged.

Since the beginning of the 19th century, the Vienna Opera has staged the best works German, Austrian, Italian and later French composers.

The building that currently houses the Vienna State Opera was built in 1869 by the architect August Zikkard von Zikkardsburg. The interiors of the building were designed by Eduard van der Nüll.

The theater opened with the opera "Don Giovanni" by Mozart. In 1875-97, productions by R. Wagner were staged at the Vienna Opera: the tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen (1877-79), Tristan and Isolde, the Mozart cycle, Othello, as well as operas by P. Cornelius, J. Massenet, E Humperdinck and others.

At the end of the 19th century, J. Bayer's ballets "The Puppet Fairy" and "The Sun and the Earth" were staged.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Vienna Court Opera became one of the best European opera houses. During these years, in addition to works by Mozart, Beethoven, Weber, Wagner, the repertoire of the Vienna Opera included works by R. Strauss, P. I. Tchaikovsky (“Eugene Onegin”, “ Queen of Spades"and" Iolanta ").

After the formation of the Republic of Austria in 1918, the theater received modern name- Vienna State Opera.

In the 1920s and 1930s, the theatre's repertoire was based on works by Mozart (Idomeneo), Verdi (Don Carlos, Macbeth), R. Strauss (The Woman Without a Shadow, Salome, Helena of Egypt) , M. Ravel ("Spanish Hour"), M. de Falla (" short life”), Korngold’s “The Miracle of Eliana”, Schoenberg’s “Happy Hand”, Stravinsky’s “Oedipus Rex”.

During the Second World War, the building of the Vienna Opera was destroyed by bombing, the theater temporarily gave performances in the premises of the People's Opera.

Vienna Opera today

The 1955-1956 season opened in a restored building. Operas were staged: "Fidelio", "Don Giovanni", "Aida"; "Meistersingers" Wagner and others. Among the best performances 50-60s: "Everyone does it", "The Marriage of Figaro" by Mozart, "Julius Caesar" by Handel, "Orpheus" by Gluck, "Cinderella" by Rossini, "Un ballo in maschera"; the tetralogy "Ring of the Nibelung", "Tristan and Isolde" by Wagner, "The Bartered Bride", "Prince Igor"; "Ariadne on Naxos" and "Salome" by R. Strauss, "Lulu" by Berg, the triptych "Triumphs" and "Oedipus Rex" by Orff, "The Government Inspector" by Egk, "The Artist Mathis" by Hindemith, "Dialogues of the Carmelites" by Poulenc, etc.

Performed at the Vienna Opera best singers Austria and other countries, including Maria Callas, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo A. and X. Konecny, M. Cebotari, E. Schwarzkopf, I. Sefried, X. Guden, L. Della Casa, S. Jurinac, A. Dermot, D. Fischer-Dieskau, J. Patzak, B. Nilson, M. Del Monaco, P. Schöfler, M. Lorenz and others. The largest conductors worked at the Vienna Opera - K. Kraus, R. Strauss, B. Walter, O. Klemperer, B. Furtwängler, J. Krips, V. De Sabata, K. Böhm, G. Karajan, D. Mitropoulos, L. Bernstein and others.

The Vienna Opera is considered the guardian best traditions viennese classical school associated with the name of the brilliant W. A. ​​Mozart.

Vienna Opera (Vienna, Austria) - repertoire, ticket prices, address, phone numbers, official website.

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Built in 1869, the building was supposed to serve exclusively as a reliable supplier of spiritual food to the royal court of Austria. Solemnly opened in the 19th century by Don Giovanni, the Vienna Opera became a favorite place for the metropolitan aristocracy and other close people. Life seemed easy and pleasant, and the annual balls that were given in this building were the blue dream of all the romantic girls of the Turgenev era.

Despite the fact that this building is still in its place, our contemporaries will never know what the “original” of the Vienna Opera was. The bloody sine wave of the Second World War passed through the capital of Austria, first during the difficult years of the occupation, and "under the curtain", in 1945, Cultural Center and the first pride of the Austrians was finally wiped off the face of the earth during the carpet bombardment.

In 1955, artists of Russian origin were invited to the Opera as soloists, balls began to be given again, the building was restored according to old drawings, and non-poor citizens, hungry for artistic delights, again streamed to Vienna in even rows. So the end of this story can rightly be called a happy one.

Performances

To have the right to say: "I was at the Vienna Opera", it is enough to go to a performance of category B - everyday production with reasonable ticket prices. For gourmets, intellectuals and others - category A: fresh productions with world stars (ticket prices are already higher by an order of magnitude). For premieres and special events, prices go through the roof.

- the center of musical culture and a popular attraction of the Austrian capital. Beautiful building The Vienna Opera is recognizable all over the world. Thousands of opera lovers visit the Vienna Opera every year to join the world art.

Vienna State Opera (Austria): history

The largest opera house in Austria was built in 1869 by two local architects Eduard van der Nüll and August Sicard von Sicardsburg. The building is designed in neo-Renaissance style.

However, the chosen architectural solution did not justify the hopes of the masters, their work was severely criticized by local residents. After the official opening of the Vienna Opera, the architects committed suicide. The first performance presented on the stage of the theater was the opera Don Giovanni by Mozart.

Only years later, society recognized the Vienna Opera as a real work of art by outstanding masters.

It is not only the facade of the building that is striking. No less interesting and wonderful is his interior decoration- magnificent staircases, ancient sculptures, gilding and marble. Tourists are also attracted by the original tea room, built specifically for the rest of Emperor Franz Joseph I.

Several suffered during the war in 1945, but after it it was completely restored. On November 5, 1955, the Vienna State Opera resumed its work with the performance of Beethoven's Fidelio.

Today, the fame of the Vienna Opera cannot be overestimated. Dozens of famous performances And theatrical productions, some of which summer time, carried out under open sky. Once a year, it hosts the world-famous debutante ball, where boys and girls present their skills in the art of ballroom dancing.

Ours took place precisely thanks to the Vienna Opera House - first we bought tickets to the Vienna Opera, and then we planned the whole trip.

Remember my previous post about ? It was she, Elisabeth of Bavaria, together with her husband, Emperor Franz Joseph I, who attended the opening of the Vienna Opera House in May 1869. Many famous productions were presented on the stage of the theater, and the leaders of the Vienna Opera constantly improved its work and invited outstanding artists.

But during German occupation World War II saw a dark period and decline for the Vienna Opera House - the repertoire was significantly reduced, and many actors were exiled and even deprived of their lives. In 1945, the Vienna Opera House was bombed and was fully restored only ten years later - in 1955. Part of the premises - the central staircase, the lobby, the veranda and the tea room have been preserved in their original form.

Near the main staircase, you can see small statues symbolizing 7 arts: architecture, sculpture, poetry, dance, music, drama and painting.

During the intermission of performances, the audience can drink tea or other drinks in one of the bars. This is one of the secular rituals when visiting the opera - to drink, for example, champagne and chat.

There are very small rooms for this, and there are also two large halls. One looks very modern and bright.

And the second one is more classic, where the office of directors of the Vienna Opera House used to be.

In one of the halls there are busts of all the directors of the opera house in Vienna who have ever directed it. Now the director of the Vienna Opera is Dominique Meyer.

Vienna Opera House is open all year round, but there are no performances from 1 July to 31 August. Ticket sales start 2 months before the performance. Tickets for performances from 1 to 30 September are sold from 1 to 31 May, and for performances from 1 to 31 October - from 1 to 30 June. Tickets can be bought online or by calling the Opera House (with a credit card).

For almost all performances, except for premieres and on December 31, children's tickets are sold in quantities from 25 to 100 pieces. Regardless of the cost of the purchased adult ticket, child ticket for children under 14 years old costs 15 euros. Adult tickets cost depending on the performance itself, the level of artists and the sector. Behind good tickets you will have to pay 190-240 euros.

It is also possible to purchase tickets right before the performance or the day before it from resellers right in front of the theater building. It is unlikely that they will good places or a performance, but if you really want to visit the opera house in Vienna, you can try. You can also contact the concierge of good Viennese hotels, as we did in Milan when we wanted to get to La Scala. In this case, the ticket will cost more, as you will still have to pay the broker and some commission to the hotel.

80 minutes before the performance, you can also buy a ticket in the standing area directly opposite the stage at the main entrance to the hall. As a rule, comrades in this sector are the most active spectators and react very violently to what is happening on the stage, do not skimp on applause and shouting: “Bravo!” Many of them have an annual subscription to the Vienna Opera House, which costs only 70 euros. There are also standing places on the gallery and balconies. Such places cost from 2 euros.

We bought tickets for one of the boxes on the balcony. It usually fits 6 people, but sometimes more. Naturally, it is better to sit in the front row of such a box.

We watched " Barber of Seville". We liked the opera very much, the actors played superbly and the scenery was also well thought out. They sang in Italian, but in front of each seat in the hall there is a special screen where the words are duplicated in English, so everything was clear.

If you didn't manage to buy tickets to the Vienna Opera House, you can just come here for a guided tour. The tour lasts 40 minutes and is held on different languages, including Russian. In order to get on the tour, you need to go to the opera house and see the tour schedule. The same can be seen on the website of the Vienna Opera House. The tour costs 7.5 euros for an adult.

Also in the Vienna Opera House you can rent a room for any event. This usually happens during the day, as during theater season almost every evening there are performances on the stage. But you can also rent, for example, a tea room for dinner in a close company an hour before or after the performance.

Well, the most interesting thing that happens at the Vienna Opera House is the annual Vienna Opera Ball. We were once at, but the Vienna Ball is a completely different level. This social event, which attracts politicians, businessmen from all over the world, cultural figures and sports stars. All the ladies wear luxurious ball dresses and men in tuxedos. One of the most important events The Vienna Ball is its opening by debutants - young girls and boys. This requires special pre-registration and rehearsals. Only young people between the ages of 17 and 24 with an impeccable knowledge of the waltz are allowed. Girls must perform in a completely snow-white outfit: dress, gloves, shoes. You can be a debutant at the Vienna Ball only once in your life. So, have time to sign up and send your resume and photos before September 1 to get to the ball on February 4, 2016 🙂 regular ticket for the Viennese ball costs 290 euros. But renting a box will cost ... 20,500 euros! But you can book a table for 4 people, which will cost 400 or 800 euros depending on the level of the balcony. In general, I won’t tell all the details yet, maybe we’ll get to the Vienna Opera Ball someday, then I’ll tell you everything 🙂 By the way, does anyone want to join?

In the form below you can find tickets to any country. Several options are offered, from which you can choose the cheapest. You can also find hotels in the form.

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