Tailor-made Holidays for Music Lovers from C and H Travel Ltd
Opera and Operetta in and Around Baden
Music is very much part of everyday life in Austria. Opera, Operetta and Classical Music remain hugely popular, attracting large audiences. This ensures that musical standards remain extremely high, performed on a scale that is very often no longer viable in many other countries.
Baden Operetta Festival
Baden Kur Orchestra Baden Festival Ballet Summer Arena
The Baden Operetta Festival marks the highlight of the musical year in Baden. Productions are fully professional with top soloists, large chorus, a dedicated ballet troupe and an excellent full-scale orchestra. The Festival productions are beautifully costumed and presented.
Each year two or three operettas are staged in the "Summer Arena" featuring famous artistes from the world of operetta. The Festival is extremely popular with most performances selling out well in advance. The "Summer Arena" is a traditional style theatre dating from 1906. The building has a unique feature that makes it a perfect venue for beautiful warm summer evenings - the roof is made up of sliding glass panels that can be rolled back so that the auditorium is open to the stars!
For Summer 2012 the main Festival Productions are:
"Countess Maritza"
Operetta by Emmerich Kalman
"The Three Musketeers"
Revue-Operetta by Ralph Benatzky
(Composer of "The White Horse Inn")
Opera and Operetta in Vienna and Beyond
The Lakeside Festival at Morbisch
"The Merry Widow" at Morbisch 2005
The picturesque village of Morbisch is situated on Lake Neusiedl. The Lakeside Festival at Morbisch is about 1 hour's drive from Baden. This annual Festival began in 1957 and today attracts more than 220,000 people each year. It is set on one of the most beautiful open air stages in Europe, on the edge of the lake overlooking the Hungarian countryside beyond.
A performance at Morbisch is always a spectacular theatrical event! The “auditorium” seats over 6,000 people. Each row is raked so that everyone has an unobstructed view of the enormous “floating stage”.
Sets, costumes and lighting are absolutely stunning. World class soloists are backed by a large cast of professional singers, dancers and musicians. The exceptionally high standards has made this Festival into an internationally recognised event and a must for all operetta fans. This unique theatrical experience should not be missed!
For Summer 2012 the Festival production will be the ever popular Operetta:
"Die Fledermaus"
by Johann Strauss II
St Margarethen Opera Festival
St Margarethen is a small village near Eisenstadt, about 45 minute's drive from Baden. The St Margarethen Opera Festival is an open air event, set in a former Roman quarry dating from the First Century A.D. Passion plays have been performed at St Margarethen since 1926. The Opera Festival began in 1996 and quickly became an opera event of international standard, attended by more than 200,000 people each summer.
For summer 2012 the chosen Opera is:
"Carmen"
by Georges Bizet
Opera at Klosterneuberg Abbey, near Vienna
The magnificent Augustinian Abbey of Klosterneuberg is situated to the north of Vienna, about 50 minutes by car from Baden.
Each summer Opera performances are given in the Abbey grounds. Performances by the young professional musicians and singers are of an exceptionally high standard.
For summer 2012 the chosen Opera will be:
"Don Pasquale"
by Donizetti
The Theater an der Wien, Vienna
This historic theatre dates back to 1801. It was built by Emmanuel Schikaneder, librettist of "The Magic Flute". The theatre was the venue for many notable world premieres including Beethoven's "Fidelio" and several of his orchestral symphonies and other orchestral works.
"Die Fledermaus", "The Gypsy Baron," "The Bird Seller", "The Beggar Sudent", "The Merry Widow" and "The Land of Smiles" (amongst many others) all received their premiere performances here.
In the 1980's the Theatre was the home for large scale musicals such as "Cats".
In 2006 the Theatre was re-inaugurated as an Opera House, as part of the Mozart bi-centenary celebrations, and is now known as Vienna's "New" Opera House. The programme runs throughout the year. Please contact us for the latest information on the performance shedules.
Summer Operetta at the Theresianum, Vienna
The Theresianum is located near to the Karlsplatz in Vienna, and close to the tram stop for Baden. This is the location for the Viennese Summer Operetta, now in its fourth year.
For summer 2012 the productions will be:
Lehar's well loved operetta "The Land of Smiles"
and "The Polish Wedding" by Joseph Beer.
Opera / Operetta at Schonbrunn Palace
The Theatre at Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna
At the time of writing no plans have been announced for summer performances at Schonbrunn in 2012. We will update this section as soon as we have some news.
The theatre at Schonbrunn dates from 1747. Situated in the western wing of the Palace it was originally used by the Empress Maria Theresia and later by the Empress Elizabeth for private Court performances. The theatre was refurbished by Napoleon in 1809 and electric lighting was installed in 1898.