Tailor-made Holidays for Music Lovers from C and H Travel Ltd
Opera and Operetta Breaks in Vienna
Opera, Operetta, Ballet and Concerts
The Vienna State Opera
The origins of the Vienna Opera date back to the beginning of the 18th Century. The present building dates from 1868. The Opera House suffered damage to the facade and some of the extensive foyer areas in the Second World War. Following restoration it re-opened in 1955.
Approximately 50 operas and 20 ballets are performed in the repertoire each season which runs from 1st September to 30th June. This is unequalled by any other Opera House in the world! Artistic standards are of the highest level. The House has a permanently engaged ensemble of singers complemented by international guest artistes.
The members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra are recruited from the State Opera Orchestra. Backstage over 250 technical staff work throughout the day and night to prepare the daily changes of programme!
Vienna State Opera House Repertoire for 2009 - 2010
The Opera and Operetta season in Vienna runs from September 2009 to the end of June 2010.
- Beethoven - Fidelio
- Bellini - I Puritani; La Sonnambula
- Bizet - Carmen
- Donizetti - L'Elisir D'Amore
- Gounod - Faust
- Havely - La Juive
- Leoncavallo / Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci
- Massenet - Manon; Werther
- Mozart - Don Giovanni; Le Nozze di Figaro; Die Zauberflote
- Puccini - La Boheme; Madama Butterfly; Manon Lescaut; Tosca
- Reimann - Medea
- Rossini - Il Barbiere di Siviglia: L'Italiana in Algeri
- Schonberg - Moses and Aron
- Shostakovitch - Lady Macbeth from Mtsensk
- Strauss, Johann - Die Fledermaus
- Strauss, Ricard - Arabella; Ariadne auf Naxos; Capriccio; Der Rosenkavalier; Salome
- Tchaikovsky - Eugene Onegin; Pique Dame
- Verdi - Macbeth; Un Ballo in Maschera; Don Carlos; Falstaff; La Forza Del Destino; Nabucco; Otello; Simon Boccanegra; Rigoletto
- Wagner - Der Fliegende Hollander; Gotterdammerung; Lohengrin; Parsifal; Das Rheingold; Siegfried; Die Walkure: Tristan und Isolde; Tannhauser
- Ballets - Anna Karenina; A Midsummer Night's Dream; Coppelia; Mayerling; The Nutcracker; Romeo and Juliet; Swan Lake and various Gala Evenings
The Vienna Volksoper
The Vienna Volksoper is Europe's leading Operetta House and Vienna's largest theatre for opera, musicals and dance. The repertoire includes operas from the 18th, 19th and 20th century along with more than 100 performances of operettas every year. The season runs from September to July and consists of 300 performances from around 35 different productions.
After the Second World War the Volksoper provided the alternative venue for the Vienna State Opera whilst the Opera House was being restored.
Everything about the productions at the Volksoper is first rate, the principal artistes, the chorus and the orchestra are of a quality found only in Vienna!
Vienna Volksoper Repertoire for 2009 - 2010
- Abraham - Die Blume von Hawaii
- Auber - Fra Diavolo
- D'Albert - Tiefland
- Humperdinck - Hansel and Gretel
- Kolonovits - Antonia und der Reissteufel
- Krenek - Kehraus Um St Stephan
- Kunneke - Der Vetter aus Dingsda
- Lehar - The Land of Smiles; The Merry Widow; The Count of Luxemburg
- Loesser - Guys and Dolls
- Loewe - My Fair Lady
- Mozart - Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail; Die Zauberflote
- Offenbach - Orpheus in the Underworld; Hauptwind Abendwind
- Prokoviev - The Love For Three Oranges
- Puccini - La Boheme; Tosca;
- Rossini - Il Barbiere di Siviglia
- Straus, Oscar - Die Lustigen Nibelungen
- Strauss, Johann - Die Fledermaus
- Strauss, Ricard - Ariadne auf Naxos
- Verdi - La Traviata; Rigoletto
- Wagner - Tannhauser in 80 Minutes
- Zeller - The Bird Seller
- Operettts - Three Tenors Operetta Concert
- Ballets - Dance Homage to Queen; Max and Moritz; The Nutcracker; Carmen; Various Ballet Galas and Mixed Programmes.
The Theater an der Wien, Vienna
This historic theatre dates back to 1801. It was built by Emmanuel Schikaneder, librettist of "The Magic Flute". The theatre was the venue for many notable world premieres including Beethoven's "Fidelio" and many of his orchestral works.
"Die Fledermaus", "The Gypsy Baron," "The Bird Seller", "The Beggar Sudent", "The Merry Widow" and "The Land of Smiles" (amongst many others) all received their first performances here.
In the 1980's the Theatre was the home for large scale musicals such as "Cats".
In 2006 the Theatre was re-inaugurated as an Opera House, as part of the Mozart bi-centenary celebrations, and is now known as Vienna's "New" Opera House.
The repertoire for the 2009-10 season is as follows:
- Britten - Death in Venice
- Gluck - Iphigenie en Tauride
- Haydn - Il Mondo Della Luna
- Henze - The Prince of Homburg
- Kalitzke - The Possessed
- Monteverdi - The Coronation of Poppea
- Rossini - Tancredi
- Johann Strauss - Die Fledermaus
"Die Fledermaus" will be performed on selected dates in July and August 2010.
Summer Opera at Schonbrunn Palace 2010
The Theatre at Schonbrunn Palace
The magnificent theatre at Schonbrunn Palace will be the venue for Mozarts Opera "Cosi Fan Tutte" throughout July and August 2010.
The theatre at Schonbrunn dates from 1747. Situated in the western wing of the Palace it was originally used by the Empress Maria Theresia for private Court performances. The theatre was refurbished by Napoleon in 1809 and electric lighting was installed in 1898.
Note: Due to refurbishment of the theatre in 2010 performances at Schonbrunn during the summer of 2010 will be held in the open air.
Opera at Klosterneuberg Abbey, near Vienna
The Augustininan Abbey of Klosterneuberg is situated to the north of Vienna.
Each summer Opera performances are given in the Abbey grounds. Performances by the young professional singers are of an exceptionally high standard. After attending a performance of Donizetti's "The Daughter of the Regiment" at Klosterneuberg in 2009, one of our guests described her experience as "one of the most sublime performances I have ever attended".
For summer 2010 the chosen Opera will be Bizet's "Carmen".
The Abbey itself is open to the public and offers fascinating tours of the magnificent Baroque interior.
Concerts in Vienna
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
The following orchestras and ensembles perform regularly in Vienna. Just contact us with your preferred dates and we will let you know what is available during that period.
- The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - One of the greatest orchestras in the world.
- The Mozart Ensemble - Chamber concerts in Mozart's former residence.
- Vienna Imperial Orchestra - Viennese Waltzes, Polkas and Marches with orchestra, singers and dancers.
- Vienna Mozart Orchestra - Concerts of Viennese Music in various venues including The Golden Hall.
- Vienna Hofburg Orchestra - Concerts of Viennese Music in the Imperial Hofburg Palace.
- Vienna Waltzer Orchestra - Concerts of Viennese Music in the Palffy Palace.
- Orchestra "Old Vienna" - Concerts in the Kur Salon in the Stadt Park.
- Schonbrunn Palace Orchestra - Daily concerts of Viennese Music in the beautiful Schonbrunn Palace.
- Schonbrunn Palace Summer Operetta - Performances in the private theatre in beautiful Schonbrunn Palace are given daily in July and August.
- The Spanish Riding School
- Vienna Residence Orchestra
- The Vienna Boys' Choir
The Stadt Theater in Baden
Apart from the Summer Operetta Festival in Baden, the town's beautiful Stadt Theater offers a full programme of operetta, musicals and drama. From January to March 2010 the repertoire will include a production of Kalman's Operetta "Die Bayadere".
Baden is easily reached from the centre of Vienna by tram (the "Badnerbahn"). The journey takes just under one hour and the service runs regularly throughout the day and late into the evening so there is no difficulty with getting back to Vienna after an evening performance in Vienna. A regular bus service also operates between Vienna and Baden.
If you are staying in Vienna during July and August 2010 it is also possible to attend the following performances:
"Der Tsarevitch" at the Lakeside Festival at Morbisch - Transport provided
"Der Zauberflote" at the St Margarethen Opera Festival - Transport provided
"La Vie Parisienne" at the Baden Operetta Festival
"Wiener Blut" at the Baden Operetta Festival
"The Merry Widow" at the Theresanium, Vienna