The Vienna State Opera is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll, and designs by Josef Hlávka. The opera house was inaugurated as the "Vienna Court Opera" in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth of Austria. It became known by its current name after the establishment of the First Austrian Republic in 1921. The Vienna State Opera is the successor of the old Vienna Court Opera. The new site was chosen and the construction paid by Emperor Franz Joseph in 1861.
Maskarade (Masquerade) is an opera in three acts by Carl Nielsen to a Danish libretto by Vilhelm Andersen, based on the comedy by Ludvig Holberg. It was first performed on 11 November 1906 at Royal Danish Theatre, Copenhagen. Maskarade has enjoyed enduring popularity in Denmark where it is considered to be the country's national opera.
Henrik Schaefer is a German conductor.
Eberhard Freiherr von Waechter was an Austrian lyric baritone, celebrated for his performances in the operas of Mozart, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. After retiring from singing, he became intendant of the Vienna Volksoper and the Vienna State Opera.
Benjamin Bayl is a Dutch and Australian conductor who works with symphony and chamber orchestras, opera houses and period instrument orchestras in Europe, Asia and Australia.
Roy Cornelius Smith is an American operatic tenor, from Big Stone Gap, Virginia.
Kasper Holten is a Danish stage director. From 2011 until 2017 he was Director of Opera for the Royal Opera House in London. He is Vice President of the Board of the European Academy of Music Theatre.
Friedrich Ludwig Æmilius Kunzen was a German composer and conductor who lived and worked for much of his life in Denmark.
Carl Johan Jacob Forsell, known as John Forsell, was a prominent Swedish baritone, opera administrator and teacher of voice. He was the leading baritone of the Royal Swedish Opera (RSO) from 1896 to 1918, and thereafter sang roles periodically with the company until his last stage performance in 1938. From 1923б to 1939 he served as the director of the RSO. He also sang leading roles as a guest artist with opera companies internationally, drawing particular acclaim for his portrayal of the title character in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Don Giovanni.
Johan Reuter is a Danish baritone and opera singer.
Stephen Milling is a Danish operatic bass who has had an active international career since the mid-1990s. Although his repertoire encompasses a wide range, he is particularly known for his roles in the operas of Richard Wagner.
Georgy Andreyevich Baklanoff, known as Georges Baklanoff was a Russian operatic baritone who had an active international career from 1903 until his death in 1938. Possessing a powerful and flexible voice, he sang roles from a wide variety of musical periods and in many languages. He was also highly praised by audience and critics for his acting abilities.
Lena Iréne Sofie Theorin is a Swedish dramatic soprano opera singer.
Frans Andersson was a Danish bass-baritone who sang major roles at the Cologne Opera, La Scala, Vienna Opera, Berlin State Opera, and Bayreuth.
Sorin Coliban is a Romanian opera singer with an international career. His voice range is bass–baritone. He is known for the volume and projection of his voice, both of which help him to sing both bass and baritone roles. He is one of the few singers to have performed with two different voices in the same performance: bass-baritone and countertenor.
Elisabeth Kulman is an Austrian classical singer who has performed operatic roles in soprano, mezzo-soprano and contralto repertory. She has appeared at opera houses in Vienna and internationally. She has performed early operas such as Legrenzi's Il Giustino as well as new works, creating the role of Gora in the premiere of Reimann's Medea at the Vienna State Opera. She recorded Lieder by Mussorgsky, Bach's Christmas Oratorio with Peter Schreier and Beethoven's Missa solemnis with Nikolaus Harnoncourt. From 2015, she has focused on concert singing.
Marc Piollet is a French conductor. After positions at the Staatstheater Kassel and Volksoper in Vienna, he was Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden from 2004 to 2012.
Elly Ruth Guldbæk Degerbøl née Guldbæk Jensen (1919–2006) was a Danish operatic soprano. After training at Copenhagen's Folketeatret and Det Ny Teater, she joined the Royal Danish Theatre where she made her début in 1947 as Zerline in Don Giovanni. After a long series of successful soubrette and coloratura roles, she performed in Covent Garden on three occasions in the early 1950s. Guldbæk was honoured as a Royal Chamber Singer in 1955. She was equally successful for her concert hall recitals.
Michael Kraus is an Austrian operatic baritone.
Sebastian Holecek is an Austrian operatic baritone. He has been part of the ensemble of the Vienna Volksoper since 2006.
