VIENNA STATE OPERA, History

Hi, my name’s Rick, and I’m your personal guide. Along with MyWoWo, I’d like to welcome you to one of the Wonders of the World: the Wiener Staatsoper.

The Wiener Staatsoper, or Vienna State Opera House, was the first building of those planned along the Ring to be completed, in 1869.

Although today it is one of the most famous opera houses in the world, it was not well received initially by the Viennese, who, even during its construction, criticized its complete lack of style, with the coup de grâce coming from the Emperor Franz Joseph, who likened it to a "railway station"! Perhaps precisely because of the fierce criticism, its two main architects, Eduard van der Nüll and August Sicard von Sicadsburg, died before the construction was completed.

Who could have imagined that, after its official opening with Mozart's Don Giovanni, the Wiener Staatsoper's beleaguered figure would rise to international prominence with its prestigious opera programming!...