There is precious little in Vienna that does not invoke awe, but there is something well-nigh a monument that is built not just of opulence and grandeur, but an unparalleled musical legacy. The Vienna State Opera (Wiener Staatsoper in German) is among the oldest and most prestigious opera houses in the world, whose walls have echoed with the immortal compositions of musical greats like Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, Richard Strauss and many others for over 150 years since its inception. Ever since it opened to the public in 1869 with the premiere of Mozarts opera Don Giovanni, it has been deemed a cultural signifier of the Austrian capital, one that moreover laid the foundation of the citys other performance pillarthe Vienna Philharmonic.
The imposing neo-Renaissance structure was the first towers to be vicarious on the Wiener Ringstrasse, the architectural cadre of the city, built in the style of historicism when in the mid 19th century, during the reign of Emperor Franz Josef. It was originally tabbed the Vienna Court Opera (Wiener Hofoper) to be later renamed as Vienna State Opera without the Habsburg monarchy was replaced by the First Republic of Austria. A guided tour of the towers allows one to take in the splendrous radiance of its interiors, some of which have weathered the damages caused by the air raids during World War II. The main lobby, the inside marble staircase, the Schwind Foyer with the tying veranda and the Tea Salon on the first floor have all been preserved in their original state. For a layman, it is nonflexible to distinguish the interiors of this public towers from that of a palace. Paintings and sculptures varnish the marble stairs, depicting the ballet, comic opera and tragic opera. The statues by Josef Gasser embody the seven liberal artsarchitecture, sculpture, poetry, dance, musical art, drama and painting. The ceilings and the walls of the Tea Salon, or the erstwhile Emperors Salon, dazzle in 22-carat gold leaf, with door handles made of ivory and wallpapers of yellow silk.
The Schwind Foyernamed without the painter Moritz von Schwindis perhaps the most exquisite part of the building, a showpiece of the original structure. Always intended to be an intermission room, the 22-metre-long foyer is defended to the art form of the opera with 16 opera-themed oil paintings by Schwind and busts of famous composers and the opera houses unconfined former directors Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Herbert von Karajan, Karl Böhm and others. The neighboring Gustav Mahler Hall displays tapestries inspired by Mozarts The Magic Flute. The opera house peaked under the directorship of Mahler who revolutionised the genre by bringing in new styles of singing, music, direction and stage setups for which he took artists from the Vienna Secession under his wing. This hall, thus, is a tribute to its most exemplary director under whose decade-long tenure, over 3,000 performances were staged.
Aside from the main performance hall, there are three halls for ensemble rehearsals, a space for the voices and orchestra and an Organ Hall that houses a 2,500-pipe organ, the only opera house in the world with such a large organ. The educational and rather witty guided tour offers many anecdotes from history to Hollywoodthe Staatsoper transcended classical boundaries to pop culture when Tom Cruise shot Rogue Nation (2015), the fifth instalment of the Mission Impossible franchise, here. The movie moreover had its world premiere at the Staatsoper. From Mozart to the Mission Impossible franchise, this institution has surely survived the test of time.
Even as tickets to the opera remain expensive, the tour allows an immersive wits of the horseshoe-shaped grand auditorium. The inside box, where the ticket prices can run up to 300 or more, offers a spectacular view of this auditorium that has 1709 seats and 567 standing spots. Increasingly than 300 operas and ballets are performed here throughout the year, every day of the week. In the months of July and August they take a summer unravel for maintenance, surpassing starting a new season in September. The Staatsoper takes superintendency to not relegate itself to peerage viewing alonethe standing spots priced under 20 unshut it up to a wider regulars that would be willing to wait in queue for a couple of hours, surpassing getting entry on a first come, first served basis. You dont need deep pockets for this, but perhaps some feet of steel to savour a full-length three-hour long opera.
Fresh into the new season older this year, I had my first opera wits with Jenfa, a three act Czech opera well-balanced by Leo Janáek. The rural drama, set in the late 19th century in a tiny village of Moravia, is at its heart a tragic story well-nigh infanticide rooted in folklore. The mid-week performance played to a packed house. From an imposing and heavily detailed stage set-up of a village mill to the blazing sopranos, fine costumes and a compelling performance from the actors and the orchestra, Jenfa offered a heart-rending experience. Digital readers tying to the front of the seats provided subtitles to help follow the story. Sitting far from the stage, however, it can get nonflexible to decipher the facial expressions of the actors; but it is the orchestra that continues to do the talking, expressing every ramified and revelatory moment played out onstage. The music pit in front of the stage can unbend up to 110 musicians. The height of the floor of the pit is willowy and can be unsimilar depending on the sensory requirements of the opera. In a long-standing tradition, only members of the Vienna State Opera are recruited by the Vienna Philharmonic. Thus, the latters existence is rooted in the glorious standards set by the former.
Sitting surrounded such architectural and cultural grandeur, it is nonflexible to imagine that this monument had once earned the misnomer stone turtle considering of the neo-Renaissance diamond that was tightly unpopular during the late 19th century. Having been ravaged by bombings and fires during the wars, the Wiener Staatsoper quite literally rose from its carrion to wilt what it is today. And in its 153 years of existence, there appears to be a poetic bookending to its pre- and post-War chaptersa lineage with Mozarts Don Giovanni in 1869 and a rebirth with Beethovens only opera Fidelio in 1955, pursuit a painstaking post WWII restoration. This is a musical legacy at its zenith, at the crossroads of history and arts, one that has cemented the cultural identity of the country.
By Kusumita Das. This piece was originally published by the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai, in the December 2022 issue of ON Stage their monthly arts magazine.
