The Opera in Vienna

Various popular opera composers called Vienna home, so it’s no surprise to find one of the world’s most prestigious opera venues here as well.

The famous Staatsoper opened in 1869
…and Vienna has two other opera houses
Egalitarian tradition means opera is priced for everyone
Book a concert experience* for your trip
See also:

Jump to:

The main opera houses
- Staatsoper, Volksoper & Theater an der Wien
Annual operatic events
Alternatives
Further reading

The opera houses

Let us begin with the magnificence that is…

The Staatsoper

(The Staatsoper at night)

The Staatsoper (State Opera House) appeared in 1869 and enjoys an outstanding global reputation. Experts speak of it in the same breath as such institutions as the Paris Opera or New York’s The Met.

The house on Vienna’s Ringstrassen boulevard has the biggest budget and the best-looking building of the city’s opera venues, and it hosts — surprise! — mainly operatic productions with some ballet.

Iconic names like Luciano Pavarotti, Maria Callas, Enrico Caruso, and Tom Cruise have all performed here.

Sorry…Tom Cruise? Yep…the Staatsoper served as a film set for a Mission Impossible movie.

The downside to this glorious history and reputation is that the Staatsoper often sells out. However, you have an entirely plausible way to get inexpensive tickets on the day of a performance.

Should you simply wish to see inside this historical building, you don’t actually need an opera ticket: the Staatsoper offers rather lovely guided tours in various languages.

Tip: The Gerstner café-bar and restaurant opposite makes a rather refined venue for pre-performance nourishment. But make sure you reserve a table. Another close option is Café Mozart

Season: September to June or early July

Address: Opernring 2, 1010 Vienna

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Next up in our operatic tour is…

The Volksoper

(The main entrance)

Like the Staatsoper, the Volksoper (opened 1898) has its own ensemble, so can also vary its schedule frequently. It hosts opera, operettas, ballet and musicals; you might catch La Traviata one day and Carousel the next.

The Staatsoper actually moved here temporarily when WWII bombing heavily damaged their building.

The Volksoper also enjoys its own movie claim to fame, having featured in the Bond film, The Living Daylights.

Tip: I recently discovered the nearby Café Schopenhauer at Staudgasse 1, which is a strong option for refreshment before and/or after visiting the opera house.

Season: September to June

Address: Währinger Straße 78, 1090 Vienna

The Theater an der Wien

(The newly-refurbished premises)

The Theater an der Wien tends to host short-run guest productions and only returned this century to the role of opera house, though it has a long and honourable operatic and musical history that predates even the Staatsoper.

Beethoven’s Fidelio premiered here, for example, in 1805. As did Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus in 1874. So this venue has History with a capital H.

More recently, the Theater an der Wien underwent a major refurbishment and modernisation that saw it shift to another location for a couple of years during construction work. The house reopened in October 2024.

One or two of Vienna’s hidden delights surround the building. For example…

Go around the side to find the famous Papagenotor. This gateway with motifs from The Magic Flute pays tribute to Emanuel Schikaneder, who wrote the libretto for Mozart’s opera and actually founded the theatre

Go further up the road to see Otto Wagner’s Majolikahaus building(s) with their absolutely gorgeous facades

Tip: for pre- and post-visit drinks, snacks and meals, cross over the road to the Naschmarkt: Vienna’s largest open-air market, full of international and gourmet delights, bars, and restaurants

Season: September to June

Address: Linke Wienzeile 6, 1060 Vienna

Annual operatic events

(The film festival screen with the Rathaus behind)

Opera on film

A huge annual event in Vienna is the open-air Rathaus Film Festival that runs across most of the summer. The screen and plenty of seating occupy space in front of the neogothic city hall, while a host of international food booths fill much of the rest of the square.

So what?

Well, the title “film festival” is a touch misleading. No “movies” here. Instead, evening showings present a musical performance of one kind or another.

Though many genres feature, the focus is on classical music. And operas always make up a significant part of the programme. The screenings are free: no ticket required.

Summer opera

The Wiener Opernsommer is an annual event that puts on an open-air opera across two to three weeks in the summer. In 2024, we had Don Giovanni at Belvedere. In 2025, we can expect La Traviata at the Heumarkt.

Alternatives

(The concerts at Palais Eschenbach commonly feature excerpts from opera and operetta, I believe)

I have a whole article of suggestions for what to do in the evening in Vienna, including various shows and musicals.

But if we stay on the operatic theme, then many of the light classical concerts put on for visitors in historical venues may also include music and/or arias from famous operas.