Visiting a concert, opera or theatre is a must see (or do) when travelling through the culturally rich city of Vienna. Home to Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms, musical composition and performance is second nature in this timelessly romantic place and so no visit would be complete without trips to Vienna concerts or the Vienna opera. The city enthusiastically celebrates its musical traditions and provides a wide range of opportunities for travelers to part take in these cultural activities.

Vienna Opera

One of the most famous opera houses in the world, the Vienna State Opera located at the Ringstraße, provides the absolute finest in first-class productions. This dynamic Vienna opera house puts on a different program each day. This includes over 50 operas and ballet productions tightly packed into 300 days over the course of the season and its repertoire covers the full range of operatic literature. For the 2011/2012 season, the Vienna State Opera will perform five new opera productions including Verdi’s La Traviata and Don Carlo, Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito,   Janáček’s Aus einem Totenhaus, and Weill’s Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny. Vienna tickets to this opera house however, do tend to be in the higher region but many concert halls also offer unforgettable performances at more modest rates.

A wonderful alternative to the State Opera is the Vienna Volksoper. Established since 1898, it offers an impressive range of stage related productions including Vienna opera, concerts, classical musicals, contemporary dance and operettas with an astounding 315 performances over the 2011/2012 season! This season, the Volksoper premiered Johann Strauss’ “Wiener Blut,” Richard Strauss’ opera “Salome,” Stephen Sondheim’s Broadway production “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” a musical by Leonard Bernstein and the highly anticipated operetta, “Madame Pompadour.”

Vienna Concerts

If you are looking for wonderful music in a spectacular hall, try the Mozart House where the famed composer himself lived and played and the orchestra itself continues to relive his classics. Among Vienna concerts, this definitely ranks high and you can enjoy the marvelous acoustics of the Sala Terrena as Mozart himself had in what has eventually become the oldest concert hall in Vienna. The beautifully restored hall however, still holds unsurpassable beauty with paintings of a variety of natures, from the floral to the sensual and even the grotesque. The Mozart Ensemble – Wien offer a taste of the Viennese classical period and their repertoire includes the compositions of Schubert, Haydn, and of course, Mozart himself. Vienna tickets for this experience are fairly moderate starting at about 39 euro.

If you’re looking to add some dancing to your evening, visit the Vienna Residence Orchestra at the Auersperg Palace (yes, it really is a palace). The evening’s program will include waltzes, polkas, ballet and singing to the compositions of Mozart and Strauss. Tickets start at a very affordable 39 euro.

For a more luxurious experience, try a Concert and Dinner package offered by the Kursalon Wien. Enjoy the compositions of Mozart and Strauss in the Lanner Hall and fit in a 4 course gourmet dinner that features the likes of Carpaccio and roast filet! Vienna tickets to the Kursalon begin at 74 euro.

Whatever you’re musical taste or cultural experience that you choose to indulge in during your stay, it really would be something to miss out on if you don’t try the Vienna concerts or the famed Vienna opera while you’re there!