Year of Remembrance | A Celebration of Opera

Protected content a milestone year for Austria: it marks 80 years since the end of National Socialism and the founding of the Second Republic, as well as 70 years since the signing of the State Treaty. These historic dates also hold deep meaning for the Vienna State Opera.

On 12 March Protected content , bombs struck the Opera House, setting it ablaze for 24 hours. Just weeks later, emergency performances began at the Volksoper and Theater an der Wien, while reconstruction of the main building was already underway. Austria’s provisional government unanimously supported the Opera’s revival.

The grand reopening took place on 5 November Protected content , with a performance of Beethoven’s Fidelio, a symbol of freedom and love. The event was broadcast globally and marked the beginning of live television in Austria. Yet, what remained unspoken was the past of key figures involved, including Director Karl Böhm, who had held the same role under the Nazi regime.

In Protected content , the Vienna State Opera stood for freedom and renewal, but also for Austria’s silence about its recent history.

In tribute to Protected content 1955, this first-ever open-air opera in the Burggarten. Join Elīna Garanča, Sonya Yoncheva, Jonas Kaufmann, Benjamin Bernheim, Boris Pinkhasovich, and the Vienna State Opera Chorus and Orchestra under Bertrand de Billy, for free.

Admission to the event area itself is only from 18:00. The concert starts at 19:00.