About Music, Stage & Theater in Vienna
Vienna lives off its reputation as a city of music, and unlike in some cities, what's on offer actually lives up to it.
The Vienna State Opera performs a changing program on around three hundred evenings a year – unusual for a house of this size. The Wiener Konzerthaus covers everything from classical to contemporary, the Volksoper is the place for operetta and musicals, and the Raimund Theater for large musical productions.
For drama there is the Volkstheater, and for the history behind it all the Theatermuseum in Palais Lobkowitz, whose Eroica Hall alone is worth the admission.
Completely different, but just as Viennese: Jazzland, a cellar club beneath the Ruprechtskirche that has had live music almost every night since 1972. And MuTh, the concert hall of the Vienna Boys' Choir.
Getting in is easier than the reputation suggests. Shortly before curtain-up, the State Opera sells standing-room tickets for just a few euros, and during the season it broadcasts performances for free on a screen on its outer façade. There is no formal dress code.
From mid-January to Shrove Tuesday, the ball season adds several hundred balls. The Opera Ball is the best known, but many professional groups hold their own balls, which are more accessible and much cheaper.