Theatre and opera in Vienna

culture holiday in the capital city of Austria

The Schauspielhaus in Porzellangasse is a small theatre putting on modern productions well worth seeing. It is just a five-minute walk from The Harmonie. Tram line D takes you to the Burgtheater in 10 minutes and the Viennese State Opera in 15 minutes.

The Volksoper was opened in 1898 as the “Kaiser-Jubiläums-Stadttheater” and initially put on only spoken-word plays. Today the Volksoper offers a tremendous variety of works: operas, classic musicals, contemporary dance, concerts, operettas, etc. There are over 300 performances per season.

The Burgtheater was a Viennese classic long before it moved into the prestigious building on the Ringstraße road. About 250 years ago, a ballroom adjacent to the Hofburg was converted into a theatre. This soon developed into one of the top addresses for German-language drama, and the Burgtheater has remained so to this day.

The Akademietheater, built between 1911 and 1913 by the architects Fellner and Hellmer and Ludwig Baumann, has been the Burgtheater’s second venue since 1922. It is located near Schwarzenbergplatz and can be reached from The Harmonie using the underground lines U2 or U4.

You can also reach the Viennese State Opera using tram line D.

With over 700 performances per season, the Theater in der Josefstadt is also one of the most important theatres in the German-speaking world. Austrian playwrights Ferdinand Raimund and Johann Nestroy performed here, while Johann Strauss conducted some of his works at this venue. In 1924 the Theater in der Josefstadt underwent an extensive renovation which created the opulent setting that still exists today.

The Volkstheater was founded in 1889 with the intention of creating a popular counterpart to the Burgtheater. Today it puts on Austrian and international classics as well as numerous premieres.

You can reach the Theater in der Josefstadt and the Volkstheater from The Harmonie using the U2 underground line.

If you are in the mood for contemporary urban folk theatre, the Rabenhof Theatre is the place to be. The programme ranges from literary evenings to children’s theatre, plays and musicals to baroque opera.