Vienna State Opera – standing room, the Opera Ball and the house on the Ring

The Vienna State Opera stands on the Opernring, the first major building to rise on the new Ringstrasse. It opened as the Vienna Court Opera on 25 May 1869 with Mozart's Don Giovanni, in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth. Today the company performs 50 to 60 operas a year in repertory, plus ten ballet productions, in more than 350 performances a season.

01Sicardsburg, van der Nüll and the 1869 opening

The house was designed by August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll. Neither saw it completed: van der Nüll took his own life, and Sicardsburg died of tuberculosis about ten weeks later. Gustav Mahler was director from 1897 to 1907; Bogdan Roščić has led the house since 2020.

02From the 1945 fire to the 1955 reopening

On 12 March 1945 an American bombing raid set the opera house on fire, destroying the auditorium and the stage. It reopened on 5 November 1955 with Beethoven's Fidelio, conducted by Karl Böhm. The rebuilt auditorium has 1,709 seats and 567 standing places.

03The orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic

The members of the Vienna Philharmonic are recruited from the orchestra of the State Opera, although the Philharmonic is a separate, self-governing association – which means the orchestra in the pit on an ordinary weeknight is drawn from one of the most famous orchestras in the world.

04The Vienna Opera Ball

Once a year the auditorium is transformed into a ballroom for the Vienna Opera Ball, held on the last Thursday of Fasching, the carnival season. It has taken place in the house for many decades.

05Standing room and how to visit

The cheapest way in is standing room: tickets cost €10 and go on sale 80 minutes before each performance. For a seat, book ahead. Read Metro Mode's Vienna guide (in Swedish), browse Metro Mode Travel, and find more city guides among metromode.co's destinations.

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