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Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera): The first opera house, the Vienna Court Opera, was built as the first monumental building of artistic importance on the Ringstraße from 1861-1869 by A. Sicard von Sicardsburg and E. van der Nüll (decoration) in neo-Romantic style. The architects were severly criticised, people spoke of a "sunken box", which caused van der Nüll to commit suicide, while Sicardsburg died of a heart attack two months later. The predecessors of the State Opera were the Theater am Kärntnertor (situated approximately on the site of today´s Hotel Sacher) and the Hofburgtheater (Imperial Palace Theatre) on Michaelerplatz square. The State Opera opened with Don Giovanni by W.A. Mozart on May 25, 1869.
During World War II (on March 12, 1945) the stage was destroyed by bombs and the building gutted by fire. The foyer, with frescoes by M. v. Schwind, the main stairways, the vestibule and the tea room were spared. Almost the entire décor and properties, the equipment for more than 120 operas with around 150,000 costumes were destroyed; The State Opera opened its temporary stages at the Theater an der Wien and at the Volksoper on October 6, 1945.
The reconstruction of the State Opera was carried out from 1948-1955 by E. Boltenstern (auditorium, stairways, cloakrooms, upper lounges), C. Kosak (Gobelin Hall), O. Prossinger and F. Cewela (side passages and Marble Hall), R. H. Eisenmenger (Safety Curtain) and H. Leinfellner (marble inlays in the bar room). The State Opera can accommodate 2,209 people (previously 2,324), offering 1,642 seats and standing room for 567. The stage is one of the largest in Europe.
The re-opening of the State Opera took place on November 5, 1955 with Beethoven´s Fidelio under Karl Böhm. The members of the Wiener Philharmoniker (Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra) are chosen from the Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera. The Vienna State Opera, one of the most illustrious opera houses in the world, looks back on a long tradition; the artistic highlights from the late 19th and early 20th centuries are closely connected with its history and its directors (in particular Gustav Mahler, H. Gregor, F. Schalk and R. Strauss).
Great conductors of the State Opera, some of whom also worked as directors, were Gustav Mahler, Felix Weingartner, F. Schalk, R. Strauss, C. Krauss, Karl Böhm, Herbert von Karajan, Lorin Maazel, Claudio Abbado, Hans Richter, Bruno Walter, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Riccardo Muti and others. The era of G. Mahler in particular marked the beginning of an outstanding development: G. Mahler took on new stars (such as A. Bahr-Mildenburg, S. Kurz and L. Slezak) and, in the person of A. Roller, recruited a stage designer who changed the lavish historical stage décor into a sparse stage scenery corresponding to Jugendstil (art nouveau) and modern style. G. Mahler also introduced the practice of having no lighting whatsoever in the auditorium during performances, which was not appreciated by the audience. G. Mahler´s determined reform policy was continued by his successors (especially by F. Schalk and R. Strauss).
Until the directorship was taken over by Herbert von Karajan, the high standard of the opera productions was guaranteed by maintaining a permanent ensemble (particularly famous was Karl Böhm´s "Vienna Mozart Ensemble"), which was, however, reduced during the 1960’s in favour of the internationally common practice of engaging guest stars. Even though the State Opera ensemble still has excellent singers, working on the basis of the ensemble alone is no longer possible. |
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Karl Krueger |
Orchestra |
Bach-J.J. Castro: Chorale Prelude Kommst du nun, Jesu, vom Himmel herunter, BWV 650, transcribed for orchestra
Bach-J.J. Castro: Chorale Prelude Nun komm der Heiden Heiland (II), BWV 659 (?), transcribed for orchestra
Bach-J.J. Castro: Chorale Prelude Nun freut euch, lieben Ch, BWV 734, transcribed for orchestra
Bach-Gui: Pastorale in F major, BWV 590, transcribed for orchestra |
