The Wiener Staatsoper is the most famous theater in Vienna. Inaugurated in 1869 as a court house (Wiener Hofoper), it is also one of the main buildings in the city, called "Erste Haus am Ring" "(" The first house on the Ringstraße "). In 1920 with the fall of the Habsburg Monarchy and the birth of the First Austrian Republic it assumed its current name. Among the members of his orchestra the elements for the Wiener Philharmoniker are chosen.
Wiener Staatsoper History
The building was announced in 1860 as the first in a series of monumental buildings on the Ringstrasse, thanks to a controversial Viennese "urban sprawl". Numerous prominent names of the architecture of the time participated in the design competition, but at the end of 1861 the construction plans, in the neo-Renaissance style, of the architects August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll were accepted.
On May 25, 1869, the opera house opened solemnly with Mozart's Don Giovanni in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elizabeth. The popularity of the building grew under the artistic influence of the first directors: Franz von Dingelstedt, Johann Herbeck, Franz Jauner and Wilhelm Jahn. The Vienna opera had its first climax under the direction of Gustav Mahler. He completely transformed the obsolete performance system, increased the precision and timing of the performances and also used the experience of other noteworthy artists, such as Alfred Roller, for the formation of new scenic aesthetics.
The years 1938 to 1945 were a dark chapter in the history of the opera house. Under the Nazis, many members of the house were driven out, persecuted and killed, and many works could not be reproduced.
On March 12, 1945, the opera house was devastated during a bombing raid, but on May 1, 1945, the "State Opera in the Volksoper" opened with a performance by Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. On 6 October 1945, the "Teatri an der Wien" restored in a hurry reopened with Beethoven's Fidelio. For the next ten years the Vienna State Opera operated in two locations while the actual headquarters was rebuilt at great expense
The Secretary of State for Public Works, Julius Raab, announced on May 24, 1945 that the reconstruction of the Vienna State Opera would begin immediately. Only the main facade, the grand staircase and the Schwind Foyer had been spared from the bombs. On November 5, 1955, the Vienna State Opera reopens with a new auditorium and modernized technology. Under the direction of Karl Böhm, Beethoven's Fidelio was performed brilliantly and the opening ceremonies were broadcast on Austrian television. The whole world understood that life was beginning again for this country that had just regained its independence.
Today, the Vienna Opera is considered to be one of the most important opera houses in the world; in particular, it is the house with the largest repertoire. He has been under the direction of Dominique Meyer since September 1, 2010