Wiener Staatsoper

The Wiener Staatsoper, Vienna’s State Opera, is one of the world’s great opera houses by any measure: 350 performances per season, 60 different works, and a reputation that attracts the best singers and conductors in the business. It opened in 1869 on the newly constructed Ringstrasse boulevard, though the opening was not exactly triumphant. The Viennese press hated the building and said so loudly. One of the two architects died by suicide before opening night; the other from a stroke. The building was heavily bombed in 1945 and rebuilt, reopening in November 1955 as part of Austria’s postwar recovery. Getting in is more accessible than most people assume. Standing-room tickets sell for EUR 3 to 4, released 80 minutes before curtain. You stand at the back of the stalls or in the upper galleries, but the acoustics are excellent throughout the house. Seat tickets for popular productions should be booked weeks ahead. The guided tours are worth doing even if you don’t plan to attend a performance. The grand staircase and foyer are among the most impressive interiors in Vienna.