![]() ![]() Who we are Suggested text: Our website address is. The Opera was inaugurated in May 1869 and after barely surviving WWII bombing, it is one of the most famous operas around the world and one of the most visited buildings of Vienna! (Cr). This criticism was not something that van der Nüll could take and eventually he committed suicide in April 1868. It suffices to say that during construction Franz Joseph referred to it as a “sunken box” as it appeared that one side of the construction was one meter under the street level of the Ringstraße. The construction of the Opera started in 1863 and due to some technical problems, which were not necessarily the fault of the architects, harsh criticism was directed against them before it was even finished. To make a long story short, in 1858 the decision was taken to build a new Opera House and van der Nüll and Sicardsburg were awarded the project. These two gentlemen worked together all their professional careers, having met most likely at the Polytechnikum (today’s Technical University of Vienna) and continuing their friendship at the Akademie der bildenden Künste (The Academy of Fine Arts), where they studied and worked. These were Eduard van der Nüll and August Sicard von Sicardsburg and, unfortunately, none of them saw the Opera open its doors. While the Vienna Opera building is very well known, its architects may not be household names for visitors and locals alike. It is hard to miss as it stands strategically located at the Karlsplatz metro station. The opera company operates a repertoire system: more than 50 productions are staged every year, and there is a performance nearly every day for ten months of the year.We don’t have any statistical proof, but we believe that 99.9% of people that have visited Vienna have seen the building of the Vienna Opera. As of 2008, the annual operating budget of the State Opera was 100 million Euros with slightly more than 50 % coming in the form of a state subsidy. As such, the State Opera employs over 1,000 people. It is quite common to find a different opera being produced each day of a week. ![]() The Vienna State Opera is one of the busiest opera houses in the world producing 50 to 60 operas per year in approximately 200 performances. 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. Eventually the decision was made to rebuild the opera house as it had been. Lengthy discussions 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. The State Opera was temporarily housed at the Theater an der Wien and at the Vienna Volksoper. The auditorium and stage were, however, 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, remained intact including the foyer, with frescoes by Moritz von Schwind, the main stairways, the vestibule and the tea room. Towards the end of World War II, on March 12, 1945, the opera was set alight by an American bombardment, which was intended for the Raffinerie in Floridsdorf. The opening premiere was “Don Giovanni” by Mozart, on May 25, 1869. Van der Nüll committed suicide, and barely ten weeks later Sicardsburg suffered a fatal heart attack so neither architect saw the completion of the building. 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 box" and, in analogy to the military disaster of 1866 (the Battle of Königgrätz), was deprecatingly referred to as “the Königgrätz of architecture”. 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). ![]() The building was, however, not very popular with the public. This was the first opera built in Vienna. It was built in the Neo-Renaissance style. Work commenced on the building in 1861 and was completed in 1869, following plans drawn up by architects August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll, who lived together in the 6th district. The building was the first major building on the Wiener Ringstraße commissioned by the controversial Viennese “city expansion fund”. The members of the Vienna Philharmonic are recruited from its orchestra. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera (Wiener Hofoper) in 1920, it was renamed the Vienna State Opera. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. ![]() The Vienna State Opera (Wiener Staatsoper) is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. ![]()
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