Visit The Opera In Vienna For €3 - A Step By Step Guide!
- Helen
- Mar 27, 2019
- 9 min read
Updated: Mar 29, 2019
The Staatsoper, or State Opera House in Vienna is world famous and a symbol of Vienna's position as a centre for opera and classical music. The world's greatest opera singers have performed there and internationally recognised composers lead the orchestra.
The Staatsoper building is a beautiful sight on the ring road of central Vienna by day or night and adds to the city's grandeur and romance.
You might well think that visiting the State Opera in Vienna would blow any budget...
that only those with deep pockets and who have the correct attire and perhaps know the right hand shake will be able to secure a ticket to a performance at this famous opera house.
However, you could not be more wrong... well, almost!
Yes, if you want a top seat in the stalls with world class comfort and view for one of Vienna's most popular opera performances then you will need to book very early and pay a good price.
However, if you are willing to forego a little comfort and be a bit further away from the stage but only pay 3 or 4 euros then Vienna's Opera House has standing tickets for every performance available on the day.
Even if you do not want to watch a full opera, just three euros for an inside view of the opera house on performance night is better value than entrance to any other major tourist attraction!
So, having enjoyed the unique opportunity of a Viennese Opera for €3 on my recent house-sit stay in Vienna, I will give you the full details of how you can do the same!
How To See An Opera At Vienna's State Opera House For Three Euros
Standing Tickets... What Are They?
The State Opera House in Vienna is very unusual for an internationally recognised Opera venue to offer 567 standing room tickets priced at either 3 or 4 Euros for every performance.
The philosophy behind this is that every person in society should have access to the arts and the opera.
Standing room tickets are only sold on the day of each performance and are based at the back of the upper tiers of the opera house.
As their name suggests, standing tickets mean that you do stand for the performance...
However, it is not as bad as it sounds - there is a cushioned bar to lean on and when you are captivated by your grand surroundings and world class opera or ballet performance you will not notice it!
To attend an opera in Vienna with a standing room ticket takes some resilience and commitment... there is queuing involved and of course not a comfy seat at the end of it. However, for the chance to see a world class opera house for less than the cost of a cup of coffee in Vienna, it is worth it!
What Is On?
In order to determine if the Opera House have a performance you are interested in during your stay in Vienna, first check out the program, which you can do online at the Staatsoper website.
This will tell you what opera or ballet is being performed each evening and the start time for it, as well as how many intervals it will have.
If you see a performance listed that you would like to experience in person then read on to discover how to do so!
Securing A Ticket - When To Queue
Standing room tickets for a performance go on sale 80 minutes before the start of the performance.
A common start time for the opera in Vienna is 7 pm, which means that tickets go on sale at 5.40 pm!
To secure one of these tickets you need to be in the right place and at the right time.
Depending on the popularity of the performance that evening and what else is happening in Vienna, the time to start queuing will vary.
However, as general rule of thumb: if you want a good standing room place then get to the sales area about 2 hours before the performance start time.
That being said, for less popular performances people do still secure a ticket just 30 minutes before curtain up, so risking arriving last minute might still pay off!
Securing A Ticket - Where To Queue
Down the left side of the opera house (if you are facing the front of the building) is a discreet entrance with a sign above it that says 'Stehplatz-Kasse | Standing Area' (see image above).
The doors here are closed and look uninviting but you need to go through them!
Assuming the queue is not already stretching up the corridor, walk down the corridor to the roped queuing area and make yourself comfortable.
You will find many people do get here early and settle in with their books, videos on smart phones and snacks...
Be prepared - bring some entertainment and make yourself at home on the hard floor while you wait for the ticket booth to open!
Securing Tickets With Friends Or Partners - Important To Know
If you are attending to get tickets as a group (or couple) then every person who wants to attend has to be in the queue at the same time and cannot leave the queue!
If you leave the queue, hoping that your friend or partner will hold your place you will be disappointed.
There is a very pleasant but strict man monitoring the queue who had a favourite saying,
"If you leave your place in the queue you cannot return to it and must join the back of the queue.."
Protests that friends were already in the queue or that they had only popped out quickly fell on very deaf ears!
Buying Your Ticket
The ticket office will open a strict 80 minutes before show time and when it does you need to be ready.
This is Vienna and so a serious business!
You have a choice of three standing room areas with differing prices:
- Parterre (ground) - 4 Euros
- Balcony - 3 Euros
- Gallery - 3 Euros
Be ready to ask for your preferred area (every regular Vienna opera go-er has their unique preference here - I went for the gallery and had a good view).
Now have your EXACT MONEY ready to pay - no cards taken and no change given - this is a rapid process to get people through.
As you pay you will be given a paper ticket for the area you selected.
Establishing Your Standing Spot Inside The Opera House
With paper ticket in hand, be prepared now for some brisk walking and then a bit more queuing!
Show your ticket to the Usher at the door when you have made your purchase and follow the corridor to the end, then turn left. You are now in the main entrance to the Opera House with the grand staircase before you.
If you have a Galerie ticket you need to turn immediately left for the first set of stairs and show your ticket again to an usher here.
For Balcony and Ground tickets continue past the stairs and turn left just beyond them where you will be directed to the correct area.
You will now face further queuing before being permitted into your preferred area.
Once the doors are open to the standing area you chose, be prepared for those around you to break out into brisk walks or jogs to get to the the standing spot they know and love!
Within the main opera house in the standing areas you will find rows of bars and you can select a spot on one of these rows and claim it as yours for the performance.
To claim your spot - tie a scarf or other piece of fabric to the lower bar in front of you... Etiquette now dictates that this spot is taken and you are free to abandon it for a look around, safe in the knowledge that you have a great place to watch the upcoming opera!
Coats & Bags
It was winter when I attended the Opera and so once people had marked their spot in their chosen standing room area, an usher was advising us that we needed to check coats into the cloakroom... this was not optional!
Any bags larger than a small size hand bag also needed to be checked in.
The cloakroom is free to use, very efficient and you are given a numbered ticket to collect your coat and bag again later.... plus it is easier not being encumbered while you enjoy the Opera House!
Time To Explore
Now you have secured your standing room ticket and best spot to watch the opera and you have unburdened yourself of coat and bag - it is time to really explore the full opera house, and there is plenty to explore too!
There are several floors to meander around while you take in and admire the incredible decor and furnishings of this world class establishment.
A few bar areas serving a range of drinks and snacks are scattered around the building - I found the bars on the lower floors to be much busier, while the (just as good) offerings further up were much quieter.
The prices here are not cheap (this is the State Opera House after all) but not as expensive as I thought they might be.
Photographs & Video Recordings
As you enjoy the opera house you are very free to take photographs of the incredible rooms and grand staircase, and will find many people doing the same!
You are also able to take photographs inside the main auditorium before the performance starts.
However, once the performance is about to start cameras must be put away - strictly no photographs of the performance are allowed, which is certainly fair.
Video recordings were not allowed anywhere in the opera house before, during or after the performance!
Curtain Up & Enjoy The Opera (or Ballet)!
Now it is time to enjoy the performance!
Get yourself comfortable leaning against the cushioned bar in front of you and absorb the world class orchestra and performers before you.
For my experience I went to Le Nozze Di Figaro (Mozart), which was beautifully performed but of course I understood very little of what they were singing!
Luckily, the opera house have prepared for this eventuality.
In front of you you will find small TV monitors and the words in English (or German) of what is being sung are displayed in an unobtrusive way here, so you can follow the story while enjoying the stage performance.
Dress Code
Within the Opera House you will find audience members in all manner of dress.
Some are wearing their finery - ladies in long dresses and men in black tie, but these tend to be those who have tickets to the most expensive seats in the house!
For those attending in the standing room areas, dress is more casual and accepted as such.
When you are queuing for long periods of time, often sitting on hard floors as you wait, then wearing your best dress is probably not sensible!
Others in the standing room areas were generally quite casually dressed - many in jeans and trainers and those in the less expensive seats tended to be smart-casual as opposed to formal in their attire.
Remember you will be standing for long periods of time so wear comfy shoes - ladies (& men!) this is a night to leave the stilettos at home!
The Opera House website does state that those dressed 'very informally' such as in shorts or sportswear might be refused entry so just use a bit of common sense and you will be fine!
Final Tips...
As I draw to a close on how to see the Opera in Vienna for €3 , a final couple of tips...
1. If standing for the whole duration of the opera does become too much for you and you want a chance to sit down but without missing any of the performance then the public area outside the cloakroom on the top floor offers a large TV screen with seats in front of it that displays the live opera.
During the performance some chose to spend time relaxing here and taking the weight off their feet!
2. Want to see the inside the main Opera House public areas without the crowds?
So long as you don't mind missing some of the performance then as the Opera is unfolding quietly leave the auditorium via the nearest door and spend some time walking around the public areas while the rest of the audience are engaged in the performance!
This was an opportunity I took and I could get photos of the Opera House without anyone in the way, feeling as if I had my own private tour!
So, there you have a step by step guide for how to see a performance at the State Opera House in Vienna for just €3.
Even if you don't like opera, for the price you pay, it is cheaper to buy a standing ticket and leave before the opera is finished just for the opportunity to see inside the Opera House than to pay for a tour of the Opera House during the day.
Let me know how you get on and if you manage to see any incredible performances!
Want to know more about Vienna, what it is famous for and why it needs to be visited? Check out my other post by clicking here!
**To make my travels possible and affordable I do so through international house-sitting, using both Trusted Housesitters and Kiwi Housesitters**
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