70th Anniversary of the Reopening of the Vienna State Opera

Vor einer hellen Steinwand mit einer Gedenktafel stehen sieben Personen in einer Reihe. Alle sind formell gekleidet, was auf eine feierliche oder offizielle Veranstaltung hinweist. Die Personen blicken ernst oder respektvoll in Richtung Kamera. Die Gedenktafel ist rechteckig und aus Metall, oben befindet sich ein Reliefporträt einer trauernden Frau im Profil.Die Inschrift auf der Tafel ist in deutscher Sprache und lautet:
„VERFOLGT VERTRIEBEN ERMORDET 1938–1945
EIN ERINNERUNGSORT FÜR DIE OPFER DES NATIONALSOZIALISMUS DER UNIVERSITÄT WIEN“Die Tafel erinnert an die Opfer des Nationalsozialismus, insbesondere jene, die mit der Universität Wien verbunden waren. Die Szene vermittelt eine Atmosphäre des Gedenkens und der historischen Verantwortung.

To mark the anniversary, the Vienna State Opera is addressing not only the themes of destruction, reconstruction and reopening in a variety of ways, but also the historical events that led to the destruction and the role that the opera played in it.

COMMEMORATIVE PLAQUE
On 5 November, exactly 70 years after the reopening of the Vienna State Opera, a memorial plaque was unveiled in memory of those victims of the Nazi regime who worked at the opera house. The plaque is located to the right of the main entrance in the arcade of the opera house. Above the inscription, it shows a work by Käthe Kollwitz – ‘Die Klage’ (The Lament), created between 1938 and 1941.

THE EXHIBITION: DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION
5 November 2025 to the end of January 2026
The exhibition in the balcony gallery shows aspects of the decade of reconstruction in photos and objects with short accompanying texts, spanning the narrative from the destruction of the building to its reopening. The exhibition is open to all performance guests before the performances and during the intervals until the end of January.

THE BOOK ACCOMPANYING THE EXHIBITION: IN THE PALACE OF SELF-INVENTION
Available from 7 November 2025
To mark the 70th anniversary of the reopening of the Vienna State Opera, Molden Verlag is publishing the book ‘In the Palace of Self-Invention’. The texts range from the terrifying prehistory from 1938 onwards, to questions about the history of identity and the ‘myth of the State Opera’, to the architecture of the rebuilt building and ominous continuities in the persons of artists such as Karl Böhm and Rudolf Eisenmenger, to the programming policy from 1945 to 1955. With contributions by Gerald Heidegger, Oliver Rathkolb, Anna Stuhlpfarrer, Sabine Plakolm-Forsthuber, Iris Frey, Andreas Láng and Oliver Láng, and Susana Zapke.

NEW TV DOCUMENTARY: VIENNA STATE OPERA – WORLD STAGE FOR AUSTRIA
5 November 2025, 10.30 p.m., ORF 2
Austria was only truly free in 1955 when the Vienna State Opera resumed performances at its home on the Ring on 5 November 1955 – this is the basic thesis of the new documentary ‘Vienna State Opera – World Stage for Austria’ (52 minutes, director: Alexandra Venier, screenplay: Gerald Heidegger and Alexandra Venier). This film asks why the State Opera, of all places, was able to play such a formative role in shaping Austrian identity across different political systems. The documentary was broadcast on ORF 2 on 5 November at 10.30 p.m.