Vienna State Opera House
The Vienna State Opera (Wiener Staatsoper) is an Austrian
opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. It was
originally called the Vienna Court Opera (Wiener Hofoper). In 1920,
with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian
Republic, it was renamed the Vienna State Opera. The members of the
Vienna Philharmonic are recruited from its orchestra.
The opera house was the first major building on the Vienna
Ringstrasse commissioned by the Viennese "city expansion fund". Work
commenced on the house in 1861 and was completed in 1869, following
plans drawn up by architects August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard
van der Nüll. It was built in the Neo-Renaissance style by the
renowned Czech architect and contractor Josef Hlávka.
Photo 50, 1985