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 2024/2025 season
The 2024/2025 opera season begins on September 5th, 2024 with a performance of Bizet’s Carmen and ends with Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades on June 30th, 2025.
Six new productions colour the schedule for the season:
- Verdi’s Don Carlos (première on September 26th, 2024)
- Kurtág’s Fin de partie (October 16th sees the first ever performance of the opera at the Staatsoper)
- Mozart’s The Magic Flute (première on January 27th, 2025)
- Bellini’s Norma (première on February 22nd, 2025)
- Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta (première on March 24th, 2025)
- Wagner’s Tannhäuser (première on May 22nd, 2025)
At the Volksoper
(No mistaking the Volksoper)
The 2024/2025 season
The Volksoper 2024/2025 opera season begins on September 1st with the Die Fledermaus operetta by Johann Strauss II.
New productions of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro on June 28th and Ralph Benatzky’s Im weißen Rössl operetta on June 29th bring the opera season to an end.
Among the many other operatic highlights, look for a new production of Carmen that premières on September 21st, 2024 and one of Emmerich Kálmán’s Die Csárdásfürstin that premières on March 8th, 2025.
Another milestone is the world première on October 26th, 2024 for Ella Milch-Sheriff’s opera Alma.
At the Theater an der Wien
(Pre-renovation!)
The 2024/2025 season
The Theater an der Wien 2024/2025 opera season begins with a concert performance of Mozart’s Idomeneo on October 12th (the post-renovation reopening).
The associated Kammeroper location opens earlier with the musical theatre project Combattimenti from September 27th. The project draws on music by Monteverdi.
Among the many highlights at the main house is a world première on June 13th, 2025: Voice Killer by the Czech composer Miroslav Srnka with a libretto by Tom Holloway. The work actually closes the season at Theater an der Wien on June 23rd, 2025.
Look out, in particular, for Bellini’s Norma, which features none other than Asmik Grigorian in the title role (begins February 16th, 2025).
The Kammeroper continues a couple of days longer than the main house, ending the season on June 26th with Isacco figura del redentore, a two-part oratorio from 1782 by Marianna Martines with libretto by Pietro Metastasio.
Incidentally, Metastasio is buried in Vienna’s Michaelerkirche church: you can see his coffin on a crypt tour.