Wiener Staatsoper

The Wiener Staatsoper is among the most famous opera houses in the world and has shaped operatic performance culture for over 150 years. The neo-Renaissance building on the Ringstraße by architects Eduard van der Nüll and August Sicard von Sicardsburg opened in 1869 with Mozart's Don Giovanni. The auditorium, with its 1,709 seats and 567 standing places, was reconstructed after destruction in the Second World War and reopened in 1955 with Beethoven's Fidelio as a symbol of Austrian cultural rebirth. The Staatsoper performs over 300 nights a year with roughly fifty different operas in repertory—a scheduling rhythm that no comparable house attempts. The Wiener Philharmoniker, drawn from the opera orchestra, plays nearly every performance. Historic music directors have included Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Herbert von Karajan, and Lorin Maazel. The cheap standing places (sold on the day of performance) remain an institution of Viennese musical life, making the great opera accessible to students and enthusiasts.