Vienna State Opera

One of the world's leading opera houses, and the first great public building of the Ringstrasse.

Designed by August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll, it opened on 25 May 1869 with Mozart's Don Giovanni. Neither architect lived to see it: stung by public criticism, van der Nüll took his own life in 1868 and Sicardsburg died a few weeks later. Gustav Mahler ran the house from 1897 to 1907. On 12 March 1945 American bombs set it on fire and destroyed the auditorium; only the front with the grand staircase, the foyer and the tea salon survived. It reopened on 5 November 1955 with Beethoven's Fidelio, days after the last Allied troops left Austria.

It is a repertory house, so a different opera or ballet is on almost every evening of the season, which runs from September to June; the orchestra is drawn from the same musicians who play as the Vienna Philharmonic. Every seat has subtitles in several languages. Buy only from the official site or the Bundestheater box offices — never from costumed street sellers. Some 435 standing places go on sale on the day of the performance, the cheapest way to hear world-class singers.

If you cannot get a ticket, take the 40-minute guided tour — €18 for visitors aged 27 and over when checked on wiener-staatsoper.at in September 2026. How to book, seat by seat: Vienna State Opera tickets; more in concerts in Vienna.