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59-577: The Vienna Volksoper ( Volksoper or Vienna People's Opera ) is an opera house in Vienna, Austria. It produces three hundred performances of twenty-five German language productions of opera, operetta, musicals, and ballet, during an annual season which runs from September through June. The Volksoper was built in 1898 as the Kaiserjubiläum-Stadttheater (Kaiser's Jubilee Civic Theatre), originally producing only plays . Because of

118-664: A cheaper alternative to the Kaiserstein. The staircases were constructed from polished Kaiserstein, while most of the rest of the interior was decorated with varieties of marble . The decision was made to use dimension stone for the exterior of the building. Due to the monumental demand for stone, stone from Sóskút , widely used in Budapest , was also used. Three Viennese masonry companies were employed to supply enough masonry labour: Eduard Hauser (still in existence today), Anton Wasserburger and Moritz Pranter. The foundation stone

177-463: A new wave of operatic excitement to the many tourists and locals who experienced this cultural event. During daytime the screen displays a replica of the Opera House's façade, as it obstructs a considerable part of the building, along with information about upcoming performances. The Vienna State Opera is particularly open to children: under Holender's direction (he has three children of his own),

236-572: A reduced schedule of the classic ballets. 2009 marked the 140th anniversary of the Vienna Opera House. To celebrate this milestone an idea designed to reach out and embrace a new audience was conceived. A giant 50 sqm screen was placed on the side of the opera house facing Kärntner Straße . In four months live broadcasts of over 60 famous operas were transmitted in this way, including performances of Madama Butterfly , The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni . This successful venture brought

295-405: A religious nature found a special place in the mystery plays performed on cathedral squares. As before, they dealt with sacred subjects, but they were not about worship per se. Secular musical theater also existed, but had a more popular and intimate aspect (see, for example, Adam de la Halle 's Jeu de Robin et Marion ("Play of Robin and Marion"), in the 13th century). At the beginning of

354-414: A replica of the original design; Boltenstern decided on a design similar to the original with some modernisation in keeping with the design of the 1950s. In order to achieve good acoustics, wood was the favoured building material, on the advice of, among others, Arturo Toscanini . In addition, the number of seats in the parterre (stalls) was reduced, and the fourth gallery, which had been fitted with columns,

413-533: A straightforward or assisting role. This was the beginning of Krips' worldwide career, which would take him to the most prominent houses in the world. Until his death in 1974, Krips was regarded as one of the most important Maestri (conductors/music directors) of the Staatsoper. On 1 July 1998, a historical broadcast took place, as Austria undertook its first presidency of the European Union . Fidelio

472-481: Is 0.15 to 3.0 m/s, the lift velocity can be up to 2.0 m/s. The stage is 17.2 meters wide and 19 meters deep and has a mechanic load capacity of 500 kg/m. In the middle of the stage is a turnable and liftable circular platform, around which is a turnable ring platform with an external diameter of 15 meters. There are also 3 hand-operated person trap mechanisms. Since 1999 the Volksoper Vienna

531-734: Is a 100% subsidiary of the Bundestheater Holding AG (Federal theater holding AG) along with the Vienna State Opera and the Burgtheater ( en : (Imperial) Court Theatre). The Bundestheater Holding AG is owned by the Republic of Austria. The Holding also holds 51.1% of the Theaterservice Gmbh, which offers services in design and administrational matters. The remaining 48.9% are shared equally among

590-527: Is a production of The Magic Flute every year for 9- and 10-year-olds, decorated like the Opernball . The opera house also has an opera school for boys and girls between the ages of eight and fourteen, which takes place in the afternoons after regular school. The children are introduced to music theatre and the prospect of becoming opera singers. The company recruits singers for children's roles in its productions from this opera school. Twice every season there

649-426: Is a special matinée performance of the opera school. In 2006, the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth, they performed a 20-minute miniature opera Der kleine Friedrich arranged from songs of Mozart by Janko Kastelic and Claudia Toman. Eighty minutes before each performance, cheap standing room tickets are sold ( € 10 ). These are popular with all age groups, and now have an almost legendary regular clientele, which

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708-536: Is an online version parallel to the publication, which receives (as of March 2007) an average of 10,000 visitors a week, and therefore is one of the most successful German-language opera portals. For many decades, the opera house has been the venue of the Vienna Opera Ball . It is an event, which takes place annually on the last Thursday in Fasching . Those in attendance often include visitors from around

767-489: Is merciless in showing its displeasure with a performance loudly and unambiguously, but is even louder in voicing approval. Every performance at the Vienna State Opera is reviewed by an independent company in the opera publication Der Neue Merker ( The New Judge ) which is printed in about 2000 copies. This is unusual in that most opera magazines prefer to concentrate on new productions and premieres. There

826-464: Is quite common to find a different opera being produced each day of a week. The Staatsoper employs over 1000 people. As of 2008, the annual operating budget of the Staatsoper was 100 million euros with slightly more than 50% as a state subsidy. The company's 2019 production of Olga Neuwirth 's opera Orlando marked the first production of an opera by a female composer in the history of

885-526: The Opernhaus vorm Salztor in Naumburg in 1701. With the rise of bourgeois and capitalist social forms in the 19th century, European culture moved away from its patronage system to a publicly supported system. Early United States opera houses served a variety of functions in towns and cities, hosting community dances, fairs, plays, and vaudeville shows as well as operas and other musical events. In

944-466: The Suda , intended for the rehearsal of music that was to be sung in the grand theater or, according to Plutarch , for the jury to audition musicians competing for a prize. Ancient theaters provided the ideal conditions, but it was not yet time for opera: the aim was to worship the deities, not to venerate the muses . The subject was religious, it was accompanied by singing and instrumental music. Worship

1003-596: The First World War the Volksoper attained a position as Vienna's second prestige opera house. In 1919, Felix Weingartner became artistic director and principal conductor. Hugo Gruder-Guntram succeeded Weingartner as artistic director. After 1929, it focused on light opera, and under Gruder-Guntram undertook a number of summer tours to Abbazia in 1935, Cairo and Alexandria in 1937 and throughout Italy in 1938, with guest appearances from Richard Tauber . After

1062-704: The Second World War , the Vienna Volksoper became the alternative venue to the devastated Vienna State Opera . In 1955 the Volksoper returned to its former role of presenting opera, operetta, and musicals. In 1987, the Volksoper was shown in the James Bond movie The Living Daylights , doubling for a fictional "Ľudové konzervatorium" ("People's Conservatory" - direct translation of "Volksoper" into Slovak ) in Bratislava , as Czechoslovakia

1121-768: The Vienna Philharmonic are recruited from the Vienna State Opera's orchestra. The building is also the home of the Vienna State Ballet , and it hosts the annual Vienna Opera Ball during the carnival season. The opera house was the first major building on the Vienna Ringstrasse commissioned by the Viennese "city expansion fund". Work commenced on the house in 1861 and was completed in 1869, following plans drawn up by architects August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll . It

1180-679: The 17th and 18th centuries, opera houses were often financed by rulers, nobles, and wealthy people who used patronage of the arts to endorse their political ambition and social position. There was no opera house in London when Henry Purcell was composing and the first opera house in Germany, the Oper am Gänsemarkt , was built in Hamburg in 1678, followed by the Oper am Brühl in Leipzig in 1693, and

1239-895: The 17th century, in Italy, singing underwent yet another renewal, with the emergence of Baroque art at the height of the Renaissance . Italy continues to have many working opera houses, such as the Teatro Massimo in Palermo (the biggest in the country), the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples and the Teatro alla Scala in Milan . The Teatro San Cassiano in Venice was the world's first public opera house, inaugurated as such in 1637. In

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1298-483: The 2000s, most opera and theatre companies are supported by funds from a combination of government and institutional grants , ticket sales, and private donations. In the 19th-century United States, many theaters were given the name "opera house", even ones where opera was seldom if ever performed. Opera was viewed as a more respectable art form than theater ; calling a local theater an "opera house" therefore served to elevate it and overcome objections from those who found

1357-564: The 2010–2011 season a new company was formed called Wiener Staatsballet , Vienna State Ballet , under the direction of former Paris Opera Ballet principal dancer Manuel Legris . Legris eliminated Harangozós's policy of presenting nothing but traditional narrative ballets with guest artists in the leading roles, concentrated on establishing a strong in-house ensemble and restored evenings of mixed bill programs, featuring works of George Balanchine , Jerome Robbins , Jiří Kylián , William Forsythe , and many contemporary choreographers, as well as

1416-472: The Staatsoper and the Vienna Volksoper were merged under the direction of Gyula Harangozó, which led to a reduction in the number of performers in the resulting ensemble. This has resulted in an increase in the number of guest stars engaged to work in the ballet. The practice of combining the two ballet companies proved an artistic failure, and Harangozó left when his contract expired in 2010. From

1475-406: The Vienna State Opera. Gustav Mahler was one of the many conductors who have worked in Vienna. During his tenure (1897–1907), Mahler cultivated a new generation of singers, such as Anna Bahr-Mildenburg and Selma Kurz , and recruited a stage designer who replaced the lavish historical stage decors with sparse stage scenery corresponding to modernistic, Jugendstil tastes. Mahler also introduced

1534-621: The Wiener Mozart-Ensemble was formed, which put on guest performances and became known particularly for its singing and playing culture. The Austrian conductor Josef Krips was the founder and mentor, who had only survived the Nazi era (given his Jewish heritage) thanks to luck and help from colleagues. At the end of the war, Krips started the renovation of the Staatoper, and was able to implement his aesthetic principles, including

1593-469: The architects of ancient Greek theater , Vitruvius described, in the 1st century BC, in his treatise De architectura , the ideal acoustics of theaters. He explained the use of brazen vases that Mummius had brought to Rome after having had the theater of Corinth demolished, and as they were probably used in the Theater of Pompey . As wooden theaters were naturally sonorous, these vases, placed between

1652-454: The company announced the extension of de Beer's contract to 2032. On three different levels there are 1261 seats and 72 standing room places as well as two places for wheelchairs. The orchestra pit is equipped with two electrically driven stage lifts, with a loading capacity of 500 kg/m. It is adjustable in height from 0 to 2.65 meters below stage level. The red velvet house curtain is hydraulically drawn and liftable. The gather velocity

1711-602: The company went on tour to London. Due to the appalling conditions at Theater an der Wien, the opera company leadership tried to raise significant quantities of money to speed up reconstruction of the original opera house. Many private donations were made, as well as donations of building material from the Soviets, who were very interested in the rebuilding of the opera. The mayor of Vienna had receptacles placed in many sites around Vienna for people to donate coins only. In this way, everyone in Vienna could say they had participated in

1770-538: The departure from the Romantic Mozart ideal with a voluminous orchestral sound. Instead, qualities more associated with chamber music were featured, as well as a clearer, lighter sound, which would later come to be known as "typically Viennese". Singers who worked with Krips during this time were Erich Kunz , Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Wilma Lipp , among others. As early as 1947, the Mozart-Ensemble

1829-418: The end of World War II, on 12 March 1945, the opera was set alight by an American bombardment. The auditorium and stage were destroyed by flames, as well as almost the entire décor and props for more than 120 operas with around 150,000 costumes. The front section, which had been walled off as a precaution, however, remained intact including the foyer , with frescoes by Moritz von Schwind , the main stairways,

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1888-488: The military disaster of 1866 (the Battle of Königgrätz ), was deprecatingly referred to as "the 'Königgrätz' of architecture". Eduard van der Nüll committed suicide, and barely ten weeks later Sicardsburg died from tuberculosis so neither architect saw the completion of the building. The opening premiere was Don Giovanni , by Mozart , on 25 May 1869. Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Elisabeth (Sissi) were present. Towards

1947-412: The opera house as it had been, and the main restoration experts involved were Ernst Kolb (1948–1952) and Udo Illig (1953–1956). The Austrian Federal Chancellor Leopold Figl made the decision in 1946 to have a functioning opera house again by 1949. An architectural competition was announced, which was won by Erich Boltenstern. The submissions had ranged from a complete restructuring of the auditorium to

2006-436: The opera house has become well known for its children's productions, which are performed in a tent on the roof of the Staatsoper. Recent examples include Peter Pan , Das Traumfresserchen  [ de ] ( The Dream Gobbler ), Der 35. Mai ( The 35th of May ), C. F. E. Horneman 's Aladdin , Bastien und Bastienne and Wagners Nibelungenring für Kinder ( Wagner's Ring for children ). In addition to this, there

2065-455: The policy of predominantly engaging guest singers. He began a collaboration with La Scala in Milan, in which both productions and orchestrations were shared. This created an opening for the prominent members of the Viennese ensemble to appear in Milan, especially to perform works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Richard Strauss . At the beginning of the 2005–2006 season, the ballet companies of

2124-489: The post, effective 1 September 2022, with an initial contract of 5 years. In December 2020, the company announced the appointment of Omer Meir Wellber as its next music director, effective 1 September 2022, with an initial contract of 5 years. In September 2023, the company announced simultaneously the resignation of Omer Meir Wellber as its music director on 31 December 2023, and the appointment of Ben Glassberg as its new music director effective 1 January 2024. In June 2024,

2183-416: The practice of dimming the lighting in the theatre during performances, which was initially not appreciated by the audience. However, Mahler's reforms were maintained by his successors. Herbert von Karajan introduced the practice of performing operas exclusively in their original language instead of being translated into German. He also strengthened the ensemble and regular principal singers and introduced

2242-485: The reconstruction and feel pride in considering themselves part owners. However, in 1949, there was only a temporary roof on the Staatsoper, as construction work continued. It was not until 5 November 1955, after the Austrian State Treaty , that the Staatsoper could be reopened with a performance of Beethoven 's Fidelio , conducted by Karl Böhm . The American Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles ,

2301-568: The safety curtain by means of magnets and are shown during the course of a season. Artists up to date: Pierre Alechinsky , Tauba Auerbach , John Baldessari , Matthew Barney , Thomas Bayrle, Tacita Dean , Cerith Wyn Evans , Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster , Richard Hamilton , David Hockney , Christine & Irene Hohenbüchler, Joan Jonas , Martha Jungwirth, Jeff Koons , Maria Lassnig , Oswald Oberhuber, Giulio Paolini , Rirkrit Tiravanija , Rosemarie Trockel , Cy Twombly , Kara Walker , Carrie Mae Weems and Franz West . In chronological order,

2360-499: The seats on the stands, served as resonators in the stone buildings: "By means of this arrangement, the voice, which will come from the stage as from a center, will extend in circles, will strike in the cavities of the vases, and will be made stronger and clearer, according to the relationship of consonance that it will have with one of these vases." The odeon built by Pericles near the Theater of Dionysus in Athens was, according to

2419-639: The theater morally objectionable. Notes Sources Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (German: Wiener Staatsoper , IPA: [ˈviːnɐ ˈʃtaːtsˌʔoːpɐ] ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna , Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road . It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll , and designs by Josef Hlávka . The opera house

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2478-469: The three theater houses (16.3% each). 48°13′29″N 16°20′59″E  /  48.22472°N 16.34972°E  / 48.22472; 16.34972 Opera house While some venues are constructed specifically for operas, other opera houses are part of larger performing arts centers. Indeed, the term opera house is often used as a term of prestige for any large performing arts center. Based on Aristoxenus 's musical system, and paying homage to

2537-402: The very brief construction period (10 months), the first director Adam Müller-Gutenbrunn had to start with debts of 160,000 florins . After this inauspicious startup, the Kaiserjubiläum-Stadttheater had to declare bankruptcy five years later in 1903. On 1 September 1903, Rainer Simons took over the house and renamed it the Kaiserjubiläum-Stadttheater - Volksoper (public opera). His intention

2596-411: The vestibule and the tea room. The State Opera was temporarily housed at the Theater an der Wien and at the Vienna Volksoper . Lengthy discussion took place about whether the opera house should be restored to its original state on its original site, or whether it should be completely demolished and rebuilt, either on the same location or on a different site. Eventually the decision was made to rebuild

2655-422: The world, especially prominent names in business and politics. The opera ball receives media coverage from a range of outlets. The opera ball in 1968 was the occasion for a protest, at which the organisation was criticised for being "elite" (due to the high prices), "conceited" (due to the opulent display of wealth for the newspapers and cameras) and "reactionary" (for upholding an allegedly outdated culture). There

2714-524: Was broadcast live from the Vienna State Opera to the 15 capital cities of the EU. The Vienna State Opera is closely linked to the Vienna Philharmonic , which is an incorporated society of its own, but whose members are recruited from the orchestra of the Vienna State Opera. The Wiener Staatsoper is one of the busiest opera houses in the world producing 50 to 60 operas in a repertory system per year and ten ballet productions in more than 350 performances. It

2773-601: Was built in the Neo-Renaissance style by the Czech architect and contractor Josef Hlávka . The Ministry of the Interior had commissioned a number of reports into the availability of certain building materials, with the result that stones long not seen in Vienna were used, such as Wöllersdorfer Stein, for plinths and free-standing, simply-divided buttresses, the famously hard stone from Kaisersteinbruch , whose colour

2832-523: Was completely renewed. The Jeu de Daniel ("Play of Daniel") was a sung play, characteristic of the medieval Renaissance of the 12th century . The subject, taken from the biblical Book of Daniel , deals with Israel's captivity in Babylon . The play was written and performed by students of the Episcopal School of Beauvais , located in northern France. In the 15th century, sung theater of

2891-585: Was inaugurated as the "Vienna Court Opera" ( Wiener Hofoper ) in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth of Austria . It became known by its current name after the establishment of the First Austrian Republic in 1921. The Vienna State Opera is the successor of the old Vienna Court Opera (built in 1636 inside the Hofburg ). The new site was chosen and the construction paid by Emperor Franz Joseph in 1861. The members of

2950-630: Was laid on 20 May 1863. The building was, however, not very popular with the public. On the one hand, it did not seem as grand as the Heinrichshof, a private residence which was destroyed in World War II (and replaced in 1955 by the Opernringhof). Moreover, because the level of Ringstraße was raised by a metre in front of the opera house after its construction had begun, the latter was likened to "a sunken treasure chest" and, in analogy to

3009-462: Was more appropriate than that of Kelheimerstein , for more lushly decorated parts. The somewhat coarser-grained Kelheimerstein (also known as Solnhof Plattenstein) was intended as the main stone to be used in the building of the opera house, but the necessary quantity was not deliverable. Breitenbrunner stone was suggested as a substitute for the Kelheimer stone, and stone from Jois was used as

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3068-528: Was playing guest performances at the Royal Opera House in London, with Mozart's Don Giovanni . Richard Tauber , who had fled from the Nazis, sang Don Ottavio ; three months later he died, and was remembered for singing with "half a lung" in order to fulfil his dream, many other artists became associated with the Mozart-Ensemble, for example Karl Böhm , but their role was still greatly peripheral, in

3127-411: Was present. The state broadcaster ORF used the occasion to make its first live broadcast, at a time when there were only c. 800 televiewers in the whole of Austria. The new auditorium had a reduced capacity of about 2,276, including 567 standing room places. The ensemble, which had remained unified until the opening, crumbled in the following years, and slowly an international ensemble formed. In 1945,

3186-644: Was public, and the audience was made up of citizens as well as other categories of the population. Four centuries later, the Church abandoned spectacles as practiced in Antiquity. Histrions , representative of Greco-Roman civilization , gradually disappeared. The Middle Ages saw the abandonment of ancient theaters, which were transformed into gigantic stone quarries , like many other ancient buildings, both public or private. Music still had its place in worship. It continued to bring audiences together, but its content

3245-432: Was restructured so as not to need columns. The façade, entrance hall and the "Schwind" foyer were restored and remain in their original style. In the meantime, the opera company, which had at first been performing in the Volksoper, had moved rehearsals and performances to Theater an der Wien , where, on 1 May 1945, after the liberation and re-independence of Austria from the Nazis, the first performances were given. In 1947,

3304-466: Was still under Communist rule at the time; the interior was however filmed at Sofiensaal . In the movie, KGB General Koskov, who is defecting to the West, is attending a performance, and Bond and his handler Saunders cover him from an apartment across the street (in real life across Währingerstraße, the building is a confectionery store "Zum süßen Eck"). From September 1991 to June 1996, the Vienna Volksoper

3363-410: Was to continue the production of plays but also establish series of opera and operetta. The first Viennese performances of Tosca and Salome were given at the Volksoper in 1907 and 1910 respectively. World-famous singers such as Maria Jeritza , Leo Slezak and Richard Tauber appeared there; the conductor Alexander Zemlinsky became the first bandmaster in 1906. In the years up to and through

3422-483: Was under a collective leadership with the Vienna State Opera . In 1999, the Volksoper became a 100% subsidiary of the Bundestheater-Holding. From 2007 to 2022, Robert Meyer headed the Volksoper as artistic director, together with the business manager Christoph Ladstätter. In October 2020, the company announced the appointment of Lotte de Beer as its next artistic director, the first woman ever named to

3481-405: Was violence between the demonstrators and the police. "Safety Curtain" is an exhibition series conceived by the non-profit art initiative museum in progress , which has been transforming the safety curtain of the Vienna State Opera into a temporary exhibition space for contemporary art since 1998. A jury ( Daniel Birnbaum and Hans-Ulrich Obrist ) selects the artists whose works are attached to

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