By Oliver Láng, dramaturg of the Wiener Staatsoper

It was on December 16, 1861 when finally, after a long preparatory phase, the first cut of the spade for the building of the royal Hofoper was done. Approximately one and a half years later, on May 20, 1863, the laying of the foundation stone was celebrated. The architects August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll had been awarded the project following an invitation to tender with 35 candidates submitting their designs.

The design of a theatre with boxes and an auditorium for 2 500 people suited for opera as well as ballet performances was requested. The opera house was finally inaugurated on May 25, 1869 with Mozart’s Don Giovanni, in those days still performed in German under the title Don Juan.

Anyone who would like to get an impression of those parts of the opera house which have survived in their original form should enter the house through the central vestibule, go up the magnificent stairwell with its grand staircase, framed by seven statues portraying allegories of the disciplines Architecture, Sculpture, Poetry, Dance, Music, Drama, and Painting, to the Schwind Foyer and the Loggia, ending the tour at the Tea-room. The Tea-room as well as the royal box on the opposite side were exclusively made available to the family of the emperor. To this day, the lavishly decorated Tea-room with its ceiling and walls, partly coated with 22-carat gold leaf, is used exclusively for special events such as awards ceremonies or receptions.

Of the many great directors of the opera Gustav Mahler should be mentioned first of all.

The House on the Ring was directed by him from 1897 to 1907, an era which turned out to be rather special. Under his directorship all the departments of the opera were modernized, traditions had been challenged and slackness stopped. Mahler aimed to achieve a new artistic focus, placing the uncompromising expression of the works in the centre of attention. He was driven by his unfaltering ambition to achieve precision, accuracy and attention, and he found an ally in the ingenious stage designer Alfred Roller.

Some ten years later, Richard Strauss and the conductor Franz Schalk were appointed directors. Productive, but also difficult years lay ahead as the monarchy had been abolished, they had to get used to new ideas and deal with the precarious world economy and its negative effects. However, it was the Wiener Staatsoper, which was the new name given to this institution in the young republic, which afforded the small country Austria the opportunity to create a new identity through culture, maintaining its outstanding position at the same time.

Another important conducting director was Clemens Krauss who was appointed in 1929. As a sensitive and sophisticated artist he directed the opera diplomatically, whilst keeping an eye on his personal career. His idea was to engage an ensemble, and he actually managed to attract a number of famous singers. In 1934, Clemens Krauss left Vienna for National Socialist Germany and went to Berlin – taking some members of his ensemble with him.

The political situation worsened in Vienna too. After the so called annexation on March 12, 1938 numerous artists of the Wiener Staatsoper were persecuted, driven away and murdered. The inhumane brutality affected every department in the whole house: Jewish singers were forbidden to sing from one day to the next, and Jewish employees were not allowed to enter the house any more. Ardent National Socialists, ideologues and mere supporters took over key positions and were promoted, and on top of all the human tragedies the quality of the opera went donwhill. The artistic substance was missing as important members of the ensemble and outstanding artists had been driven away, and performing works of Jewish composers was prohibited. In 1943, Karl Böhm, a supporter of National Socialism, became the director of the House, and he was to become the director again after the Wiener Staatsoper had been rebuilt…

In 1945, most of the House on the Ring was destroyed so that the performances had to take place in theatres like Theater an der Wien and the Volksoper until 1955. The rebuilt House on the Ring was finally reopened on 5 November 1955 with a performance of Beethoven’s Fidelio. 1956 to 1964 was a productive era under the new director Herbert von Karajan. His enthusiasm for famous singers and the big names and flair led to a new sense of internationality. It was to become an era of important musical highlights performed by the most prestigious singers who sang the works in their original language.

In the early 1990s the former and popular baritone Eberhard Waechter, who was the director of the Volksoper at the time, became the new director, but only for seven months. After his tragic death in March 1992 his general secretary Ioan Holender took on his position. His term of office was marked by many singers starting out on a great career at the House on the Ring, and a unique ensemble being formed as well as the systematic expansion of the repertoire. His directorship was the longest in the history of the Wiener Staatsoper. The introduction of opera performances for children and young people, die Zauberflöte für Kinder on the day after the opera ball and the project ‘Oper live am Platz’ (transmitting opera and ballet performances to a screen on Karajan-Platz) are additional highlights of his directorship.

In 2010, Dominique Meyer was appointed director of the Staatsoper. His aim was to systematically expand the repertoire and to improve the conditions for rehearsals and studies at the Wiener Staatsoper. Milestones of his directorship include increasing the importance of the ballet, the return of baroque operas to the House, the introduction of Staatsoper streams, an extensive restoration of the vestibule, the Schwind Foyer and the Loggia, an expansion of the opera repertoire for children, expanding the ensemble, the young members of which Dominique Meyer has often engaged straight from contests for which he acted as a member of the jury.

The Wiener Staatsoper has always been and still is one of the most important opera

houses worldwide, and above all it is the opera with the largest repertoire. Every season the programm includes some 50 different operas and ten ballets – no other opera house is capable of offering such great variety to such a high standard. In addition to the international guest singers and dancers performing at the Wiener Staatsoper, the permanent members of the singing ensemble and the ballet company as well as the Staatsopernorchester (the musicians are identical with those of the Vienna Philharmonic) and the Staatsopernchor deserve a special mention as they are the pillars of this unique artistic establishment.

In May 2019, the House on the Ring celebrated its 150th anniversary with the premiere of Richard Strauss’ Die Frau ohne Schatten which was performed for the very first time at the Staatsoper exactly 100 years ago. Thus tradition and the present, history and the future merge at the Wiener Staatsoper which is as unique as the artists.

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Last updated on 9.04.2020