Vienna · Ringstrasse
Wiener Staatsoper
Fifty different operas a season and five hundred standing places every night
Standing room on the parterre rail, a few euros, ten metres from the pit
No other opera house in the world runs a repertory system this dense: around fifty different works in a season, changing almost every night, played by an orchestra that doubles as the Vienna Philharmonic. The building was gutted in 1945 and rebuilt by 1955, which is why the auditorium is plainer than the foyers.
The standing places are a deliberate policy going back to the imperial house and they remain the cheapest serious opera ticket on earth. Queue at the Operngasse door, pay a few euros, tie a scarf to the rail to hold your place, and stand for four hours of Wagner if you choose to.
The detail
Good to know
- Opened
- 1869, rebuilt 1955
- Repertoire
- About 50 works per season
- Standing places
- Around 500 per performance
- Orchestra
- Doubles as the Vienna Philharmonic
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