Theater An Der Wien - Later History

Later History

The theatre experienced a golden age during the flourishing of Viennese operetta. From 1945 to 1955, it was one of the temporary homes of the Vienna State Opera, whose own building had been destroyed by Allied bombing during World War II.

In 1955, the theatre was closed for safety reasons. It languished unused for several years, and by the early 1960s, the threat had emerged that it would be converted to a parking garage (this was the same era of "urban renewal" that in America nearly destroyed Carnegie Hall).

Fortunately, in 1962 the theatre found a new and successful role for itself as a venue for contemporary musical theatre. Many English-language musicals had their German premieres there. In 1992, the musical Elisabeth (about Franz Joseph I of Austria's wife, Elisabeth of Bavaria, also known as Sissi), premiered there. The musical Cats directed and choreographed by Gillian Lynne played successfully for seven years.

Despite its focus on operettas and musicals, the theatre still served as a venue for occasional opera productions, especially during the Vienna Festival seasons, and sometimes co-produced with the Vienna State Opera. Notable productions were Lulu (1962; conducted by Karl Böhm, staged by Otto Schenk, designed by Caspar Neher, starring Evelyn Lear), Haydn's Orfeo ed Euridice (1967; conducted by Richard Bonynge, staged by Rudolf Hartmann, with Nicolai Gedda, Joan Sutherland), Fidelio (1970; conducted by Leonard Bernstein, staged by Schenk, with Gwyneth Jones, James King), Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (1971; conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, staged by Federik Mirdita), L'elisir d'amore (1973; conducted by Silvio Varviso, staged by Schenk, with Nicolai Gedda, Reri Grist, Eberhard Wächter), Die Fledermaus (1975; conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich, staged by Michael Kehlmann, with Wiesław Ochman, Reri Grist, Elizabeth Harwood, Waldemar Kmentt), La clemenza di Tito (1976; conducted by Julius Rudel, staged by Mirdita, with Werner Hollweg, Teresa Berganza, Arleen Augér, Edda Moser), Fierrabras (1988; conducted by Claudio Abbado, staged by Ruth Berghaus, with Thomas Hampson, Karita Mattila, László Polgár), Die Entführung aus dem Serail (1989; conducted by Harnoncourt, staged by Ursel Herrmann, Karl-Ernst Herrmann), Don Giovanni (1990; conducted by Abbado, staged by Luc Bondy, with Ruggero Raimondi, Karita Mattila, Marie McLaughlin, Cheryl Studer), Le nozze di Figaro (1991; conducted by Abbado, staged by Jonathan Miller, with Ruggero Raimondi, Marie McLaughlin, Cheryl Studer) and the world premiere of Adriana Hölszky's Die Wände (1995; conducted by Ulf Schirmer, staged by Hans Neuenfels). Between 1996 and 2002, Riccardo Muti conducted new productions of Così fan tutte, Don Giovanni (both staged by Roberto de Simone), and Le nozze di Figaro (staged by Michael Heltau, based on an original production by Giorgio Strehler).