The Graz Opera (German: Oper Graz) is both a theater and an opera company based in Graz, Austria. The opera house orchestra also performs concerts such as the Graz Philharmonic Orchestra (Grazer Philharmonisches Orchester).
Opernhaus Graz History
The work had been staged in Graz since the 17th century, originally in a former coach house on the royal property of the Habsburgs. The National Theater (Schauspielhaus Graz), built in 1776, has seen many first performances of Mozart's works, although today (after many reconstructions) it is dedicated to theatrical performances.
The first opera house dedicated to the city and the immediate predecessor of the Graz Opera was the Thalia Theater, adapted in 1864 from an old circus hall. Plans for a new theater suited to the growing size and importance of the city and intended to be a "new home for German art" were first proposed in 1887.
Designed by Ferdinand Fellner and Herman Helmer in Neo-Baroque style, the Graz Opera was inaugurated in 1899 with a representation of the drama by Schiller Guglielmo Tell, followed a few days later by the work of Wagner Lohengrin. The building was damaged during the WWII attacks but was repaired and reopened after the war. Between 1983 and 1985 it underwent a $ 15 million refurbishment that saw the installation of modern equipment and facilities without significantly altering the original exterior and interior of the building.
The current intendant of the company is Nora Schmid, from 1 January 2015, following Elisabeth Sobotka. The company's previous general directors were Niksa Bareza, Philippe Jordan, Johannes Fritzsch and Dirk Kaftan. In the autumn of 2016 Oksana Lyniv made her first appearance as guest conductor in the company, in a production of La traviata. In February 2017, the company announced the appointment of Lyniv as the next musical director, effective from the 2017-2018 season. Lyniv is the first female director to be named musical director of the Graz Opera.