|
|
Looking at the building from the Opernring, in other words from the front, the historical part from the original 1869 building is visible. The façade remains in Renaissance arched style and the loggia on the Ringstrasse side underline the public character of the building.
Click here to get to the [Panoramic tour]
Ernst Julius Hähnel
The two representations of riders over the main façade of the loggia were erected in 1876. They were created by Ernst Julius Hähnel and represent two flying horses, illustrating Harmony and the muse of poetry (Erato).
Also by Hähnel are the five bronze statues (from left to right: Heroism, the Songstress, Fantasy, Thalia and Love) which stand on pedestals inside the arched loggia arcade.
Moritz von Schwind
In the loggia one can see the painted Magic Flute cycle by Moritz von Schwind. In order to protect the painter’s precious work from the harmful effects of the weather, a protective glass covering is installed and remains from November until April.
Fountains
Right and left of the house two old fountains by Josef Gasser can be seen. They represent opposing worlds. Left: Music, Dance, Joy, and Lightheartedness, Right: Loreley, Grief, Love, and Revenge.
The Building
The back part of the two part building is clearly wider and houses the stage and the accompanying facilities while the narrower front part houses the auditorium and the publicly accessible rooms. Worth noting are the differing roof shapes: the vaulted roof all around over the higher central parts of the building covering the auditorium and the stage, the Walm roof on the lateral wings, the Saddle roof on the two-storey links between the lateral wings and the French roof on the corner turrets.
The vertical wing sections were originally used as carriage ramps. On the transverse front sides the crest of the Austrian-Hungarian empire can be seen.
Interior of the former opera house
Entering through one of the main doors into the box office foyer, which has remained in its original form, gives an immediate impression of the interior of the former opera house which was mostly destroyed on the 12th of March 1945 shortly before the end of hostilities in the Second World War. Remaining in its original form is the entire façade and main foyer, the central stairway (known as the ‘celebratory stairway’), the Schwindfoyer and loggia as well as the Tea Salon on the first floor.
|
|
customized calender
