State Opera

Last weekend, some friends from Wageningen visited me here in Vienna. It is nice to show ‘my’ city to my friends and family from the Netherlands, to show them what I was talking about every time. And of course it’s nice if they bring some Dutch stroopwafels, especially my roommates appreciate it :).

 On Saturday, we decided to go to a performance in the State Opera from Vienna. I already had a guided tour through the Opera building. The Opera building was built from 1861 till 1869 by two architects, August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Edward van der Nüll. Unfortunately, the emperor was not happy about the result. He said to the architects that the opera looked like a station. Architect Edward was depressed about this and committed suicide. However, I feel that the opera building looks stunningly beautiful.

The guide showed us the different rooms in the opera building and the big performance area. There was also the possibility to have a look behind the scenes – literally. If you want to see a picture from behind the scenes, you can have a look at my Instagram account (@mmrjln).

To set the decor for a performance is really labour intensive, it takes one day. Besides that, they have to change it every day because the opera singers need one day rest after a performance. So, everyday it’s a busy day for the scenery builders.

Saturday night we went to the opera and bought some cheap standing tickets (only €3). The opera was called Chowanschtschina, try to pronounce it ;). It dates back from the 19th century and is about a tumultuous period Russia, where everyone in the state is fighting and want to gain power. The orchestra that is playing is the Vienna Phillharmonic Orchestra, so you can imagine that it was really high level. The opera took about 4 hours and we stayed till the very end. And all that for only €3!