The Vienna State Opera — Wiener Staatsoper — is one of the most prestigious opera houses in the world and the beating cultural heart of a city that has always taken its music seriously. Opened in 1869 with a performance of Mozart's Don Giovanni, the neo-Renaissance building on the Ringstrasse was controversial from the start — one of the architects died shortly after Emperor Franz Joseph reportedly called it too low — but it has long since cemented its place as an architectural and artistic landmark of the highest order. The house stages roughly 300 performances a year across more than 50 productions, with a roster of conductors, soloists, and dancers that reads like a who's who of classical performance.
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