Venue shakes up Vienna opera scene
New theater will operate year-round
Unlike the State Opera and Volksoper, which close for the summer, Theater an der Wien will operate year-round, offering 10 or so new productions each year under the artistic direction of Vienna native Roland Geyer. It will be the first of Vienna's major opera companies to function not as a repertory house, but under the "stagione" system, in which only one work is presented at a time with a single cast.This year is fully booked with Mozart operas in honor of the 250th birthday of Austria's favorite son, including standards ("The Magic Flute," "Cosi fan tutte" and "Don Giovanni"), rarities such as "Lucio Silla," "Idomeneo" (in a co-production with the State Opera), "La clemenza di Tito" and "The Obligation of the First Commandment," plus tie-ins from other composers.
Geyer's vision takes full flight in 2007, when the company begins its mix of Baroque and pre-Mozart opera (in addition to works by Gluck and Haydn, Handel's "Julius Caesar" will be performed on authentic 18th-century instruments) and 20th-century works, including Stravinsky's "The Rake's Progress," Andre Previn's "A Streetcar Named Desire" and Jake Heggie's adaptation of "Dead Man Walking" with American opera legend Frederica von Stade.
Although it has most recently played home to musicals, Theater an der Wien had its origins in opera. Built by actor and impresario Emanuel Schikaneder with profits from his collaboration with Mozart on "The Magic Flute," -- Schikaneder penned the libretto and originated the role of bird catcher Papageno -- it was completed in 1801, a decade after Mozart's death.
This "Theater on the Vienna River" saw the world preems of such works as Beethoven's "Fidelio," Johann Strauss' "Die Fledermaus" and Lehar's "The Merry Widow," plus dramas by 19th-century Austrian playwrights Fer di nand Raimund and Johann Nestroy.
When the State Opera was almost completely destroyed in a 1945 Allied air raid, the company moved to Theater an der Wien for a decade until its reopening. After lying fallow for several years, the 1,000-seat jewel box was restored to its original glory, and in the 1960s became Vienna's premier address for tuners.
In the late 1980s, Theater an der Wien joined with the Raimund Theater and Etablissement Ronacher to form Vereinigte Buehnen Wien (United Stages of Vienna), with large-scale shows such as "Cats," "The Phantom of the Opera" and "Elisabeth" (the highest-grossing German-language musical of all time) playing at the two larger houses, and touring companies and special concerts at the Ronacher (undergoing a multimillion-euro renovation to allow it to take the place of Theater an der Wien as a musical house, skedded for a 2007 reopening).
One key distinction in Geyer's approach to the new venue is his specific avoidance of the Romantic-era repertory that is the hallmark of the State Opera (don't expect to hear Wagner or Verdi in his house), and the standard operettas and operas staged at Volksoper (where "Carmen" and other non-German works are still performed in the vernacular).
Further separating Theater an der Wien from the pack is the fact each production will be created specifically for the house (although Geyer is seeking partners for co-productions), tapping cutting-edge directors such as Keith Warner, Claus Guth and Patrice Chereau.
Ticket prices range from E11 to E130 ($13 to $157), placing the company between the deluxe-priced State Opera ($12 to $230) and the popular-priced Volksoper ($5 to $85).
Perhaps outraged that the City of Vienna chose to give Theater an der Wien to Geyer to create a new company rather than to provide a second stage for State Opera's smaller-scale works, and fearing a loss in revenue from the competition, State Opera director Ioan Holender has been an outspoken opponent of Geyer's venture, publicly questioning the need for its existence.
"I don't care about Mr. Holender's jealousy," responds Geyer.
"As a 'stagione' opera house, we hope to enrich and expand the high quality of culture currently available in this city," Geyer says. "As Vienna's third opera house, we're offering not just competition, but an independent and exciting alternative. We want to make opera more interesting and desirable, a goal which we hope will have a positive impact on all three houses."
