In principle, the season in the three big opera houses in Vienna normally runs from September to June or early July latest, with (obviously) a summer break in between.
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Check for detailed programmes with the houses directly, but here’s a broad overview.
At the Staatsoper
(Outside the State Opera House)
Vienna’s State Opera House (Staatsoper) jostles with the Met, Sydney and others at the top of the world rankings for opera venues.
The Staatsoper also does rather nice tours of the building for those who want to look behind the scenes or get a flavour of the place without attending a full-blown performance.
The 2025/2026 season
The 2025/2026 opera season began on September 3rd, 2025 with a performance of Mozart’s The Magic Flute and ends with Puccini’s 3-work Il Trittico on June 30th, 2026.
Five new productions colour the schedule for the season:
- Smetana’s The Bartered Bride (première on September 25th, 2025)
- Beethoven’s Fidelio (première on December 16th, 2025)
- Verdi’s Luisa Miller (première on February 7th, 2026)
- Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito (première on March 9th, 2026)
- Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers (première on May 14th, 2026)
At the Volksoper
(No mistaking the Volksoper)
The 2025/2026 season
The Volksoper 2025/2026 opera season began on September 4th, 2025 with the Die Fledermaus operetta by Johann Strauss II (singalong version) and ends on June 30th, 2026 with the same opera (pride version).
Among the many other operatic highlights, look for:
- Killing Carmen by Nils Strunk, Lukas Schrenk and Gabriel Cazes with a fresh take on Bizet’s opera (première October 1st, 2025)
- Aschenbrödels Traum by Martina Eisenreich and Axel Ranisch with a modern Cinderella fairytale inspired by Johann Strauss’s ballet fragment to the same theme (première November 29th, 2025)
At the Theater an der Wien
(The newly-renovated opera house)
The 2025/2026 season
Theater an der Wien 2025/2026 opera season began in the main house with a performance of Strauss’s Die Fledermaus on October 4th, 2025 and ends with Verdi’s Stiffelio on May 21st, 2026.
The associated Kammeroper location opened earlier with Rossini’s L’occasione fa il ladro on September 23rd and ends later with two one-act operas Lady Magnesia and Zweimal Alexander on June 19th, 2026
Among the many highlights at the main house is a world première on December 14th, 2025: Ich bin Vincent! und ich habe keine Angst by Gordon Kampe.
Look out, also, for the Austrian première of the operatic adaptation by Unsak Chin of Alice in Wonderland (begins November 17th, 2025).
And tickets?
For info on how to get inexpensive tickets at short notice, try my tips.