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I may be going for a long weekend to Vienna, in November, and if so will try to book tickets for a triple bill on November 6th.

https://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/en/season-tickets/detail/event/967926754-macmillan-mcgregor-ashton/

 

Does anyone have any tips on seats, best way to book? And any restaurant recommendations would also be welcome!

 

Thank you

Graham

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Hi...if I remember rightly I booked "early" too (same system at Munich) ...you simply request the number of seats, and your ideal seats and price range, and submit cc details. The box office deals with your request when booking formally opens. Then they send out tickets. But give them a ring just to be sure. 

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You can pre-order as Varnatus described and get tickets assigned, or buy direct about 2 month before the performance, apart from when their rules become very arcane.

 

"Bookings usually open 2 months ahead of the date of the performance (for instance on 1 September for 1 November, on 30 September for 30 November, but note that performances from 1 to 30 September can only be booked from 1 to 30 May, and performances from 1 to 31 October from 1 to 30 June respectively)."

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43 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said:

I recommend Figlmüller for schnitzel.

 

Yes indeed, but book in advance.

 

Katherine's Viennese Cafe Crawl here:

http://toursenlair.blogspot.co.uk/p/travel-tips-for-ballet-lovers.html

 

The stalls are not very well raked. There are about 5 rows at the back of the main floor which are well raked (except for the first row of that section). Otherwise try to get an inside aisle seat, but not in the first three rows or your view will be blocked by the conductor.  If you can get front row seats (other than the aisle because of the conductor problem) you will have a good view.

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If you like the ROH amphitheatre experience (ie don't feel you need to be superclose) it is worth a bit of planning to try and get into the front (doesn't have to be exactly the front row) of the Galerie, as the Staatsoper calls it.

 

For a really close view, one trick the local ballet fans use is to get into a side box next to the stage (the seats farthest from the stage in the second row of those boxes are ok, as well as really cheap - not only is the view v good although slanted, you can enjoy the amazing Vienna Philharmonic from close up and, if the top price tourists in the front row leave at the interval, and this happens a fair bit, you can move forward!)

 

But both of those options take planning. If you don't do the advance booking letter (as above) make sure to be at your computer dead on time on the exact day booking opens (as per the date schedule above - for your performance this would I think be on the morning of 6th September, 10am Vienna time which is 9am UK time) - for those seats you will be in competition with sussed locals and (so far as the best Galerie tickets are concerned) ticket agencies who will then resell. Unlike Vanartus (above) I don't mind using Viennese ticket agencies as and when I have either messed up the booking or made up my mind too late to get a seat through the website (the mark up is not bad at the agencies I have used, across the road from the opera).

 

Finally, if all else fails, just queue for standing on the day. They have a LOT of standing for sale, but you should only stand in Parterre (back of the stalls, the most popular) or Galerie, not Balkon. But in your situation I would start with a letter - can be sent by email, see their website for instructions in English - and hope that gets you what you want.

 

If this all sounds a bit much, don't worry: getting in to the ballet in Vienna is not the business that getting into an opera performance can be (particularly when a big name is singing). So you should be fine. Just don't get stuck at the back of the balcony, where both sound and vision are compromised.

 

 

Edited by Geoff
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Chipping in as I saw Cranko's Onegin at the Staatsoper back in March!

 

If you don't mind ROH amphi-esque distance, the central Galerie is excellent - with far better sightlines than ROH! I sat in the second to last row and saw everything immaculately, without having to even move my head once. Very well raked/staggered. The following pic is one I took from my seat!

 

18553040_1788298004519509_1473399825_o.j

 

 

I booked some three weeks before the performance; ballet isn't hugely popular in Vienna. 

 

There's plenty of cafes that open late central in the streets behind the Staatsoper - just follow the crowd and you'll find something!

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Lucked upon being in Vienna the other week and seeing Swan Lake at the Opera with Olga Smirnova and Semyon Chudin visiting from the Bolshoi Theater in Russia. As before, found them absolutely stunning, with Olga once again delivering a divine, crystalline and mesmerizing performance that has put the audience in a state of magnificent awe and made it erupt in prolonged and thunderous applause at the end. So much for ballet not being hugely popular in Vienna. Chudin shone as well as a perfect prince, dancing with brilliance and panache. The best part for me was their duo in the 4th Act, the reconciliation between Odette and Siegfried after his betrayal, which was somber, but also very warm and touching.

 

However, I cannot say that this version of Swan Lake, staged by Rudolf Nureyev when he was only 26 years old, is ever going to be my favorite. Beyond the extensive parts and solos for the Prince, with intricate footwork and spins in both directions, which Nureyev, without a doubt, composed to showcase his own technical skills, the overall staging is pretty bland and lacking of action, with only the two guests from Moscow displaying any feeling or emotion, and the action becoming meaningful only during the more traditional Ivanov-Petipa parts. Left me with a feeling that young Nureyev as a choreographer clearly preferred form over substance, intricacy for the sake of intricacy, so the pas were often not linked to the music or the plot, which makes the choreography, especially by the corps, look somewhat mechanical and awkward. I was also left wanting for explanations of several plot points, perhaps someone with knowledge of Nureyev 's work could enlighten me:

- The Prince's sudden change from melancholy to excitement when he is advised to go to the lake with his crossbow. I mean, I understand he likes hunting, but why does he all of a sudden spring up and run away to the lake so eagerly when advised to do so by his mentor?

- The costumes. I mean, this is a royal court, so one would think that the courtiers would not be all wearing exactly the same dress. And why are the men wearing turbans, as if it were a Turkish kingdom? The same goes for the brides and the men accompanying them wearing crowns. If they are princesses from different places, won't they be dressed just a little differently as opposed to the same, somewhat drab dresses? Or is it just an allegory that they are all the same to Siegfried? Could Rothbart have looked any sillier with his red-and-black wings that look as if he is wearing woven carpets on his arms? What happened to the lavish costumes that one sees in the filmed version of this ballet with Nureyev and Fonteyn?

- Also, I understand that the character dancers from different nations have either come to take part in the celebration of Siegfried's wedding, or, in some versions, are all part of Rothbart's retinue, brought in to confuse and bamboozle the Prince with exotic dancing and colors. Here, for some reason the Hungarians, the Poles and the Neapolitans arrive together with the courtiers, the Prince and the Queen, as the wedding gets set, then enter Rothbart and Odile, and then for some reason the Spaniards spring up. So, is it just the Spaniards that Rothbart brings along with him because he is also inexplicably Spanish? Or are they simply late arrivals to the party? 

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>>mesmerising performance that has put the audience in a state of magnificent awe and made it erupt in prolonged and thunderous applause at the end. So much for ballet not being hugely popular in Vienna.

 

Great post Elena but this may be a misunderstanding. I have been going to the Staatsoper since my teens (= over 40 years ago) and it has always been easier to get ballet tickets than opera tickets (even though there are far fewer ballet evenings). That doesn't mean the locals don't love it when they see it!

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 5/16/2017 at 08:58, toursenlair said:

 

Yes indeed, but book in advance.

 

Katherine's Viennese Cafe Crawl here:

http://toursenlair.blogspot.co.uk/p/travel-tips-for-ballet-lovers.html

 

The stalls are not very well raked. There are about 5 rows at the back of the main floor which are well raked (except for the first row of that section). Otherwise try to get an inside aisle seat, but not in the first three rows or your view will be blocked by the conductor.  If you can get front row seats (other than the aisle because of the conductor problem) you will have a good view.

Thank you

 

I have been allocated row 2, one seat on the aisle, in the 'parkett' which I think is orchestra stalls. Should I try to change them do you think?

 

Graham

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1 minute ago, gdallas said:

Thank you

 

I have been allocated row 2, one seat on the aisle, in the 'parkett' which I think is orchestra stalls. Should I try to change them do you think?

 

Graham

 

If you can, (and if it's on the inside aisle rather than the side aisle) I would. So long as what you can exchange it into doesn't have one of the other problems. Yes, parkett is orchestra stalls.  I've never tried to exchange seats with Vienna State Opera so don't know how easy (or not) it is. I suspect "not".

 

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  • 5 months later...

Last night we saw a triple bill at the Vienna State Opera house. I am not an expert, so please bear that in mind....  it was really a great evening. ‘Concerto’  ‘Eden|Eden’ and ‘Marguerite and Armand’. First thing I have to say is that the orchestra was superb. I think the music in ROH has improved a lot over the last 3 or 4 years but this was to my ear really a notch above. 

 

The dancing was beautiful. I was really impressed by Nikita Fogo, Nina Polokává, Roman Lazik in ‘Concerto’. The corps was outstanding too. The ‘Marguerite and Armand’ was odd. Fantastic music with a Japanese pianist, and we were knocked out by that. But the piece is strange I think. I’ve seen it once before and somehow it seems to leave me cold. That said the dancers again were as good as any I’ve seen: Ludmilla Konvalova and Jakob Feyferlik, who was really well cast as well as being wonderfully passionate and athletic. 

It was also interesting to see the theatre itself. The auditorium is probably a bit smaller than Covent Garden, and not as plush. But some of the public areas are stunning, despite being furnished and catered in a faintly municipal style. Although tickets are expensive I ge5 the impression the money is spent on Theda ding and the music, not on creating a ‘Wonderful Customer Experience’.  Maybe they don’t ge5 as many corporate buyers of tickets in Vienna. 

 

I’d thoroughly recommend it. Sold out on a cold Monday in November, with a fairly challenging programme, so a good audience. 

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Who is Theda Ding??  :)   

 

Seriously, thanks for your posting, GDallas.  I was in Vienna in May and they were doing Swan Lake.  Sadly, it was completely sold out, and when we walked by there were so many people crowding the foyer queueing for returns that it wasn't worth trying.  Marianela was going to be guesting just a couple of days after we left.  It was my first trip there and there is more that I would like to see, so next time I will try to get my act together in advance and go to see whatever is on, if I can get tickets!

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6 hours ago, gdallas said:

The corps was outstanding too. The ‘Marguerite and Armand’ was odd. Fantastic music with a Japanese pianist, and we were knocked out by that. But the piece is strange I think. I’ve seen it once before and somehow it seems to leave me cold.

 

I think it takes really exceptional dancers to make something really good of it, gdallas, otherwise it tends to leave me a bit cold too.  (The Royal Ballet is managing to field 4 casts for it next year - we shall see, we shall see)

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