Vienna State Opera

The Vienna State Opera (Wiener Staatsoper), located in Vienna, Austria, is one of the most important opera houses - and opera companies - in the world. The members of the equally prestigious Vienna Philharmonic are recruited from the orchestra at the Staatsoper.

History

History of the building

Construction

The building was the first major building on the Wiener Ringstraße commissioned by the controversial Viennese "city expansion fund". 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 6. Bezirk. It was built in the Neo-Renaissance style. This was the first opera built in Vienna.

The Ministry of the Interior had commissioned a number of reports into the availability of certain building materials, with the result that stones long not seen in Vienna were used, such as Wöllersdorfer Stein, for plinths and free-standing, simply-divided buttresses , the famously hard Kaiserstein, whose colour was more appropriate then Kelheimerstein, for more lushly decorated parts. The somewhat coarser-grained Kelheimerstein (also known as Solnhof Plattenstein) was intened as the main stone to be used in the building of the opera house, but the necessary quantity was not deliverable. Breitenbrunner stone was suggested as a substitute for the Kelheimer stone, and stone from Jois was used as a cheaper alternative to the Kaiserstein. The staircases were constructed from polished Kaiserstein, while most of the rest of the interior was decorated with varieties of marble.

The decision was made to use dimension stone for the exterior of the building. Due to the monumental demand for stone, stone from Sóskút, widely used in Budapest, was also used. Three Viennese masonry companies were employed to supply enough masonry labour: Eduard Hauser (still in existence today), Anton Wasserburger and Moritz Pranter. The foundation stone was laid on May 20, 1863.

Public response

The building was, however, not very popular with the public. 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"). 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". 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.

The opening premiere was "Don Giovanni", by Mozart, on May 25, 1869. Until 1920 it was called the Vienna Court Opera ("k.k. Hofoper"). It was then renamed the Vienna State Opera ("Wiener Staatsoper").

Wartime bombing and redesign

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 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. 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 State Opera was temporarily housed at the Theater an der Wien and at the Volksoper.

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. Eventually the decision was made to rebuild the opera house as it had been, and the main restoration experts involved were Ernst Kolb (1948–1952) und Udo Illig (1953–1956).

The Austrian Federal Chancellor Leopold Figl made the decision in 1946 to have a functioning opera house again by 1949. An architectural competition was announced, which was won by Erich Boltenstern. The submissions had ranged from a complete restructuring of the auditorium to a replica of the original design; Boltenstern decided on a design similar to the original with some modernisation in keeping with the design of the 1950s. In order to achieve a good acoustic, wood was the favoured building material, at the advice of, among others, Arturo Toscanini. In addition, the number of seats in the parterre (stalls) was reduced, and the fourth gallery, which had been fitted with columns, was restructed so as not to need columns. The facade, entrance hall and the "Schwind" foyer were restored and remain in their original style.

In the meantime, the opera company, which had at first been performing in the Vienna Volksoper, had moved rehearsals and performances to Theater an der Wien, where, on May 1, 1945, after the liberation and re-independence of Austria from the Nazis, the first performances were given. In 1947, the company went on tour to London.

Due to the appalling conditions at Theater an der Wien, the opera company leadership tried to raise significant quantities of money to speed up reconstruction of the original opera house. Many private donations were made, as well as donations of building material from the Soviets, who were very interested in the rebuilding of the opera.

However, in 1949, there was only a temporary roof on the Staatsoper, as construction work continued. It was not until November 5, 1955, (after the Austrian State Treaty), that the Staatsoper could be reopened with a performance of Fidelio, by Ludwig van Beethoven, conducted by Karl Böhm. The American Foreign Minister, John Foster Dulles, was present. The television station ORF used the occasion to make its first live broadcast, at a time when there were only c. 800 televiewers in the whole of Austria. The ensemble, which had remained unified until the opening, crumbled in following years, and slowly an international ensemble formed.

History of the company after the war

In 1945, the "Wiener Mozart-Ensemble" was formed, which put on world-renowned guest performances and became known particularly for its singing and playing culture . The Austrian conductor Josef Krips was the founder and mentor, who had only survived the Nazi era (given his Jewish heritage) thanks to luck and help from colleagues. At the end of the war, Krips started the renovation of the Staatoper, and was able to implement his aesthetic principles, including the departure from the Romantic, Mozart ideal with a voluminous orchestral sound. Instead, qualities more associated with chamber music were featured, as well as a clearer, lighter sound, which would later come to be known as "typically Viennese". Singers who worked with Krips during this time were Erich Kunz, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Wilma Lipp, among others.

As early as 1947, the Mozart-Ensemble was playing guest performances at the Royal Opera House in London, with Mozart's "Don Giovanni". Richard Tauber, who had fled from the Nazis, sang "Don Ottavio"; three months later he died, and was remembered for singing with "half a lung" in order to fulfil his dream. many other artists became associated with the Mozart-Ensemble, for example Karl Böhm, but their role was still greatly peripheral, in a straight-forward or assisting role. This was the beginning of Krips' worldwide career, which would take him to the most prominent houses in the world. Until his death in 1974, Krips was regarded as one of the most important "Maestri" (conductors/music directors) of the Staatsoper.

Present day

The company

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.

The Wiener Staatsoper is one of the busiest opera houses in the world producing 50 to 60 operas per year in approximately 200 performances. It is quite common to find a different opera being produced each day of a week. As such, the Staatsoper employs over 1000 people. As of 2008, the annual operating budget of the Staatsoper was 100 million Euros with slightly more than 50% coming in the form of a state subsidy.

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.

The company is currently headed by the State Opera's Musical Director Seiji Ozawa.

Gustav Mahler

Gustav Mahler was one of the many illustrious conductors who have worked in Vienna. During his tenure, Mahler cultivated a new generation of singers, such as Anna Bahr-Mildenburg, Selma Kurz and recruited a stage designer who replaced the lavish historical stage décors for sparse stage scenery corresponding to modernistic, Jugendstil tastes. Mahler also introduced the practice of dimming the lighting in the theatre during performances, which was initially not appreciated by the audience. However, Mahler's reforms were maintained by his successors.

Herbert von Karajan

Herbert von Karajan introduced the practice of performing operas exclusively in their original language during his directorship of the company; prior to this, operas were performed in German. He also strengthened the ensemble and regular principal singers and introduced the policy of predominantly engaging guest singers; and began a collaboration with La Scala in Milan, in which both productions and orchestrations were shared. This created an opening for the prominent members of the Viennese ensemble to appear in Milan, especially to perform works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Richard Strauss.

2005/2006 season

At the beginning of the 2005–2006 season, the ballet companies of the Staatsoper and the Volksoper were united under the direction of Gyula Harangozó, which led to a reduction in the number of performers in the resulting ensemble. This has resulted in an increase in the number of guest stars engaged to work in the ballet.

2006/2007 season

In the 2006-07 season, the Staatsoper planned five new productions in the main auditorium, one premiere in the children's opera tent, and several revivals. The first premiere, on October 25, was Giuseppe Verdi's "Otello", conducted by Daniele Gatti, directed by Christine Mielitz, with the title role sung by Johan Botha, Falk Struckmann as Iago and Krassimira Stoyanova as Desdemona. On December 9, Strauss' "Arabella" premiered, conducted by Franz Welser-Möst, direction by Sven-Eric Bechtolf, stage design by Rolf Glittenberg and costumes by Marianne Glittenberg. The main roles were filled by Adrianne Pieczonka (Arabella), Genia Kühmeier (Zdenka), Thomas Hampson (Mandryka) and Michael Schade (Matteo).

The first new production of Jules Massenets "Manon" since 1971 took place on March 3, 2007, conducted by Bertrand de Billy, directed by Andrei Şerban, with Anna Netrebko in the title role and also starring Roberto Alagna (Chevalier Des Grieux) and Adrian Eröd (Lescaut). Gaetano Donizettis "La Fille du Régiment" premiered on April 1, conducted by Yves Abel, direction by Laurent Pelly (via a co-production with Covent Garden Opera, London, and the New York Metropolitan Opera). Juan Diego Flórez as Tonio, Carlos Álvarez as Sulpice and Montserrat Caballé as Duchesse de Crakentorp appeared beside Natalie Dessay as Marie. The final premiere of the season was "Boris Godunov" by Modest Mussorgsky on May 28; conducted by Daniele Gatti, direction by Yannis Kokkos. Ferruccio Furlanetto (Boris Godunov), Jorma Silvasti (Shuysky), Robert Holl (Pimen), Clifton Forbis (Grigoriy), Nadia Krasteva (Marina) and Falk Struckmann (Rangoni) were the cast.

Mira Lobe's children's book "Die Omama im Apfelbaum" ("The Omama in the Apple Tree") was the basis for Elisabeth Naske's children's opera of the same name, which was commissioned by the Wiener Staatsoper and was performed in its world premiere on April 15. Before that, Mozart's early work "Bastien und Bastienne" was revived in the same performance space on September 24.

The opera house and children

The Vienna State Opera is particularly open to children: under Holender's direction (he has three children of his own), the opera house has become well-known for its children's productions, which are performed in a tent on the roof of the Staatsoper. Recent examples include "Peter Pan", "Das Traumfresserchen" ("The Dream-Gobbler"), "Der 35. Mai" ("May 35th"), "Aladdin" and "Bastien and Bastienne". In addition to this, there is a production of "The Magic Flute" every year for 9- and 10-year-olds, decorated like the Opernball.

The opera house also has an opera school for boys and girls between the ages of eight and fourteen, which takes place in the afternoons, around normal schooling. The children are taught in a manner appropriate to their continuing in a singing career; the opera recruits for children's roles from this opera school.

The "Standing place only" audience at the Wiener Staatsoper

Immediately before each performance, cheap, standing place tickets are sold. These are popular with all age groups, and now have an almost legendary regular clientele, which allegedly is merciless in showing its displeasure with a performance loudly and unambiguously, but is even louder in voicing approval.

"Der Neue Merker"

Every performance at the Wiener Staatsoper is reviewed by an independent company, in the opera publication "Der Neue Merker" ("The New Flag"). In each edition, there might be as many as 2000 copies . This is unusual in that most opera magazines prefer to concentrate on new productions and premieres. There is an online version parallel to the publication, which receives (as of March 2007) an average of 10000 visitors a week, and therefore is one of the most successful German-language opera portals.

The opera ball

For many decades, the opera house has been the venue of the Vienna Opera Ball. It is an internationally-renowned event, which takes place annually on the last Thursday in Fasching. Those in attendance often include visitors from around the world, especially prominent names in business and politics. The opera ball receives media coverage from a range of outlets.

The opera ball in 1968 was the occasion for a protest, at which the organisation was criticised for being "elite" (due to the high prices), "conceited" (due to the opulent display of wealth for the newspapers and cameras) and "reactionary" (for upholding an allegedly outdated culture). There was violence between the demonstrators and the police.

Musical directors

In chronological order, the musical directors of the Staatsoper have been:
* Franz von Dingelstedt (1867-1870)
* Johann von Herbeck (1870-1875)
* Franz von Jauner (1875-1880)
* Wilhelm Jahn (1881-1897)
* Gustav Mahler (1897-1907)
* Felix Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg (first directorship, 1908-1911)
* Hans Gregor (1911-1918)
* Richard Strauss / Franz Schalk (1919-1924)
* Franz Schalk (1924-1929)
* Clemens Krauss (1929-1934)
* Felix von Weingartner (second directorship, 1935-1936)
* Erwin Kerber (1936-1940)
* Heinrich Karl Strohm (1940-1941)
* Lothar Müthel (1941-1942)
* Karl Böhm (first directorship, 1943-1945)
* Franz Salmhofer (1945-1954)
* Karl Böhm (second directorship, 1954-1956)
* Herbert von Karajan (1956-1964)
* Egon Hilbert (1964-1968)
* Heinrich Reif-Gintl (1968-1972)
* Rudolf Gamsjäger (1972-1976)
* Egon Seefehlner (first directorship, 1976-1982)
* Lorin Maazel (1982-1984)
* Egon Seefehlner (second directorship, 1984-1986)
* Claus Helmut Drese (1986-1991); musical director: Claudio Abbado
* Eberhard Waechter (1991-1992)
* Ioan Holender (1992-2010) Secretary-General;
* Seiji Ozawa (2002-2010) musical director
* Dominique Meyer (2010); musical director: Franz Welser-Möst (2010)

Prominent artists

Karajan's principle of guest principals remains today; many great artists have appeared at the Staatsoper.

ingers

*Theo Adam
*Giacomo Aragall
*Agnes Baltsa
*Ettore Bastianini
*Teresa Berganza
*Walter Berry
*Franco Bonisolli
*Montserrat Caballé
*Maria Callas
*José Carreras
* Mimi Coertse
*Franco Corelli
*Giuseppe Di Stefano
*Placido Domingo (40th jubilee in May 2007)
*Otto Edelmann
*Juan Diego Flórez
*Mirella Freni
*Ferruccio Furlanetto
*Angela Gheorghiu
*Nicolai Ghiaurov
*Edita Gruberova (40th jubilee in September 2008)
*Thomas Hampson
*Hans Hotter
*Gundula Janowitz
*Maria Jeritza
*Gwyneth Jones
*Angelika Kirchschlager
*Alfredo Kraus
*Erich Kunz
*Selma Kurz
*Christa Ludwig (final operatic performance in "Elektra", 1994)
*Anna Moffo
*Anna Netrebko
*Birgit Nilsson
*Jessye Norman
*Jarmila Novotná
*Luciano Pavarotti
*Alfred Piccaver
*Hermann Prey
*Gianni Raimondi
*Ruggero Raimondi
*Maria Reining
*Leonie Rysanek
*Matti Salminen
*Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
*Renata Scotto
*Cesare Siepi
*Bo Skovhus
*Giuseppe Di Stefano
*Giuseppe Taddei
*Martti Talvela
*Richard Tauber
*Renata Tebaldi
*Bryn Terfel
*Rolando Villazón
*Eberhard Waechter
*Otto Wiener
*Fritz Wunderlich
*Heinz Zednik

Conductors

In no particular order:
*Erich Kleiber
*Ernest Ansermet
*Hans Knappertsbusch
*Rafael Kubelik
*Rudolf Moralt
*Fritz Reiner
*Antal Dorati
*Gianandrea Gavazzeni
*Antonino Votto
*Tullio Serafin
*Heinrich Hollreiser
*Dimitri Mitropoulos
*Igor Strawinsky
*Paul Hindemith
*Hans Richter
*Nello Santi
*Francesco Molinari-Pradelli
*Erich Leinsdorf
*Nikolaus Harnoncourt
*Michael Gielen
*Pierre Monteux
*Lovro von Matačić
*Silvio Varviso
*Leopold Hager
*Leonard Bernstein
*Carlos Kleiber
*Otmar Suitner
*Riccardo Muti
*Gerd Albrecht
*Alberto Zedda
*Georg Solti
*Riccardo Chailly
*Horst Stein
*Colin Davis
*Christoph von Dohnányi
*Giuseppe Sinopoli
*Arnold Östman
*John Eliot Gardiner
*Roger Norrington
*Christian Thielemann
*Daniele Gatti
*Marcello Viotti
*Alfred Eschwé
*Josef Krips
*Zubin Mehta
*Richard Strauss
*Friedrich Haider
*Clemens Krauss
*Wilhelm Furtwängler
*Bruno Walter
*Arturo Toscanini
*Victor de Sabata
*Robert Stolz
*André Cluytens
*Felix Weingartner

Conductors who also held the position of music director

*Herbert von Karajan
*Karl Böhm
*Lorin Maazel
*Claudio Abbado
*Seiji Ozawa (2002-"present")
*Franz Welser-Möst

Directors and set design

In no particular order:
*Margarethe Wallmann ("Tosca", 1956)
*Josef Gielen ("Madama Butterfly", 1957)
*Otto Schenk ("Jenůfa", 1964)
*Luciano Damiani ("Don Giovanni", 1967)
*Václav Kašlík ("Idomeneo", 1971)
*Jorge Lavelli ("Der Prozess", 1970)
*Boleslaw Barlog ("Salome", 1972)
*Filippo Sanjust ("Ariadne auf Naxos", 1976)
*Tom O'Horgan ("Les Troyens", 1976)
*Robert Carsen ("Jérusalem", 1995)
*Laurent Pelly ("La fille du régiment", 2007)
*Hermann Nitsch ("Hérodiade", 1995)
*Franco Zeffirelli ("La bohème", 1964)
*Wieland Wagner ("Lohengrin", 1965)
*Luchino Visconti ("Falstaff", 1966)
*Günther Rennert ("Il barbiere di Siviglia", 1966)
*Jean-Pierre Ponnelle ("Manon", 1971)
*Josef Svoboda ("Idomeneo, 1971)
*Dieter Dorn ("Die Entführung aus dem Serail", 1979)
*Piero Faggioni ("Norma", 1977)
*Ezio Frigerio, ("Norma", 1977)
*Giulio Chazalettes ("Attila", 1980)
*Peter Wood ("Macbeth", 1981)
*Harry Kupfer ("Die schwarze Maske", 1986)
*Antoine Vitez ("Pelléas et Mélisande", 1988)
*Alfred Kirchner ("Khovanchina", 1989)
*Istvan Szabo ("Il trovatore", 1993)
*Jonathan Miller ("Le nozze di Figaro", 1991)

*August Everding ("Tristan und Isolde", 1967)
*Götz Friedrich ("Moses und Aron", 1973)
*Lotfi Mansouri ("La fanciulla del west" 1978)
*Gian Carlo Menotti ("La Cenerentola", 1981)
*Harold Prince ("Turandot", 1983)
*Giorgio Strehler ("Simon Boccanegra", 1984)
*Ken Russell ("Faust", 1985)
*Ruth Berghaus ("Fierrabras", 1990)
*Luca Ronconi ("Il viaggio a Reims", 1988)
*Johannes Schaaf ("Idomeneo", 1987)
*Giancarlo del Monaco ("La forza del destino", 1989)
*Karl-Ernst Herrmann ("Die Entführung aus dem Serail", 1989)
*Marco Arturo Marelli
*Hans Neuenfels ("Le Prophète", 1998)
*Herbert Wernicke ("I vespri siciliani", 1998)
*Christine Mielitz
*Peter Stein ("Simon Boccanegra", 2002)
*David Pountney ("Rienzi", 1997)
*Jürgen Flimm ("Der ferne Klang", 1991)
*Pier Luigi Pizzi (as stage designer: "La forza del destino", 1974; as director: "Don Carlo", 1989)
*Sven-Eric Bechtolf ("Arabella", 2006)

Commemorative coin

* In the 50^th anniversary of the reopening of the Vienna State Opera, the building was selected as a main motif of one of the most famous collectors coins: the Austrian 10 euro Re-opening of Burgtheater and National Opera commemorative coin, minted in October 12 2005. This coin was dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the re-opening of the rebuilt National Theatre (Burgtheater) and the National Opera. The obverse side depicts the two buildings; the National Theatre slightly behind the Opera House.

ee also

* Carltheater
* Ringtheater
* Theater an der Wien
* Theater am Kärntnertor
* Vienna Volksoper

References

Much of the information in this article is taken from the [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiener_Staatsoper German Wikipedia article] .

External links

* [http://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/ Wiener Staatsoper official website]
* [http://www.martijnhooning.com/muziekgeschiedenis/mahler3_e.html History of the Opera before Mahler]