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The original State Opera, a neo-romantic building severely criticized when it was built, was inaugurated on May 25, 1869 with Mozart's Don Giovanni.
During World War II, the stage was destroyed by Allied bombs and the building gutted by fire on March 12, 1945. The foyer, with frescoes by M. v. Schwind, the main stairways, the vestibule and the tea room were spared. Almost the entire décor and props for more than 120 operas with around 150,000 costumes were destroyed. The State Opera was temporarily housed at the Theater an der Wien and at the Volksoper.
The rebuilt theater, seating more than 2200, reopened on November 5, 1955 with Beethoven's Fidelio under the baton of Karl Böhm.
Gustav Mahler is one of the many illustrious conductors who have worked in Vienna. During his tenure, Mahler cultivated a new generation of singers, such as Anna Bahr-Mildenburg, Selma Kurz and Leo Slezak and recruited a stage designer who replaced the lavish historical stage décors for sparse stage scenery corresponding to modernistic, Jugendstil tastes. Mahler also introduced the practice of dimming the lighting in the theater during performances, which was initially not appreciate by the audience. However, Mahler´s reforms were maintained by his successors.Other conductors at Vienna have included Hans RichterHans Richter was a Dadaist artist, filmmaker and writer. He was born on April 6, 1888 in Berlin and died on February 1, 1976 in Minusio, near Locarno, Switzerland. One of the founders of the Dada movement, he was active in Zurich, Switzerland from 1916 to, Felix WeingartnerFelix (Edler von Munzberg) Weingartner ( June 2 1863 May 7 1942) is a Dalmatia-born (from Zara, now Zadar) conductor, composer and pianist. He was among Franz Liszt's later pupils, and Liszt helped produce Weingartner's opera Sakuntala though the Weimar o, Richard StraussRichard Strauss ( June 11, 1864 September 8, 1949) was a German composer of classical music particularly noted for his tone poems and operas. He was also a noted conductor. He was born on June 11, 1864 in Munich, Germany, the son of Franz Strauss who was, Clemens Krauss , Wilhelm FurtwänglerWilhelm Furtwangler ( January 25, 1886 November 30, 1954) was a German conductor and sometime composer. Furtwangler was born in Berlin. His father Adolf was an archaeologist and his mother a painter, and his brother Phillip a mathematician. Most of his ch, Bruno WalterBruno Walter ( September 15, 1876 February 17, 1962) was a conductor and composer. He was born in Berlin, but moved to several countries between 1933 and 1939, finally settling in the United States in 1939. His original name was Bruno Walter Schlesinger b, Karl Böhm, Herbert von KarajanHerbert von Karajan ( April 5, 1908 July 16, 1989) was a conductor, one of the most prominent of the postwar period. Karajan conducted the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra for many years. Life Early years He was born in Salzburg, Austria, as Heribert von Kar, Lorin MaazelLorin Varencove Maazel (born March 6, 1930) is a conductor, violinist and composer. Maazel was born to American parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France and brought up in the United States. He was something of a prodigy, making his conducting debut before h, Claudio AbbadoClaudio Abbado (born June 26, 1933) is a noted Italian conductor. Abbado was born in Milan. He studied piano at the Milan Conservatory with his father Michelangelo Abbado, and went on to study conducting with Hans Swarowsky at the Vienna Academy of Music., and Riccardo Muti
Until the directorship was taken over by von Karajan, Vienna maintained a permanent ensemble. Von Karajan introduced the policy of engaging guest singers.
Opera houses Opera companies Vienna