Vienna is a city of opera and boasts three major opera stages: the MusikTheater an der Wien is just as popular with Viennese audiences as the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna Volksoper. 

The MusikTheater an der Wien focuses on works with a particular connection to Vienna and the MusikTheater an der Wien, contemporary music theater and baroque compositions.

Reopening!

After two years in Hall E at the MuseumsQuartier, the MusikTheater an der Wien is returning to its historic and now completely renovated headquarters right next to the famous Naschmarkt. The reopening will be marked with a ceremony on October 12 at 11 am, the same day as the premiere of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera Idomeneo. The open day on October 19 invites visitors to take a look behind the scenes of the newly restored, resplendent building which dates back to 1801 (be sure to reserve tickets!).

© Peter M. Mayr

Spectacular music theater in 2024/25

In the 24/25 season, the MusikTheater an der Wien will once again be the only stagione theater in the German-speaking world to offer a program spanning 400 years of music theater. The theater’s artistic director is Stefan Herheim, one of the most sought-after opera directors of our time. Some of the 13 productions that will be staged during this season:

• Idomeneo (W. A. Mozart)
• Paradise and the Peri (Robert Schumann)
• The Little Prince (Pierangelo Valtinoni) – family opera
• Norma (Vincenzo Bellini)
• Betrothal in a Monastery  (Sergej Prokofjew)
• Voice Killer (Miroslav Srnka)

Among the 144 events in total, there will be twelve new productions, one world premiere, seven concert operas and five concerts. There will also be a cultural education program called TaWumm!

Johann Strauss 2025

Johann Strauss II had close ties with the MusikTheater an der Wien: 13 of his 15 operettas were first performed here. At the MusikTheater an der Wien, the celebration of the Johann Strauss 2025 anniversary year (marking 200 years since his birth) begins with the operetta Das Spitzentuch der Königin (The Queen’s Lace Handkerchief), which premiered here in 1880. A caustic parody of the Habsburg monarchy, it became Strauss’s greatest success of his career to date, but with Crown Prince Rudolf’s suicide in Mayerling in 1889, the piece abruptly disappeared from theater repertoires.

The production is directed by Christian Thausing, with Martynas Stakionis conducting the Vienna Chamber Orchestra. The ensemble is led by Diana Haller, Elissa Huber, Beate Ritter, Michael Laurenz, Alexander Strömer and Maximilian Mayer. Premiere: January 18, 2025

Johann Strauss 2025

© WienTourismus/Paul Bauer

The stars of the season

The MusikTheater an der Wien will host internationally acclaimed singers in 2024/25, including Aigul Akhmetshina, Jeanine De Bique, Freddie De Tommaso, Elsa Dreisig, Attilio Glaser, Asmik Grigorian and Raffaele Pe.

Collaborations with the Arnold Schoenberg Choir (the resident choir of the MusikTheater an der Wien), the Wiener Symphoniker and the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra will be continued.

© WienTourimus/Paul Bauer

Tip: Kammeroper

The second performance venue of the Theater an der Wien is the Kammeroper – an ideal setting for smaller works that blend music and theater. Highly talented next-generation artists appear on stage here alongside established actors. The audience and performers get especially close to one another in the little opera house in the heart of the city.

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