Vienna,Austria

The Vienna state opera or (wiener Staatsoper) is an opera house and opera company

It is located in the centre of vienna, Austria

It was originally called the Vienna court house in 1920,it was renamed the Vienna state opera

The Architects August Sicard Von Sicardsburg and Eduard Van Der Null built the Vienna state opera

The building was the first major building on the Vienna

It was built in 1861 and was completed in 1869 (8 years)

Materials used, stones long not seen in Vienna were used

The staircases were constructed from polished kaiserstein

Most of the rest of the interior was decorated with varieties of marble

The stage area covers a gigantic space 1,500m2

It had a tragic beginning as the construction of monumental building

Became a calamity for its two architects

Such criticisms finally made Eduard Van Der Null commit suicide and two mounts later August died of heart attack

Unfortunately they did not live to see the big opening

During the 2nd world war, the stage was destroyed and the building gutted by fire on march 12 of 1945

The main stairways, the vestibule and the tea room were spared

Almost the entire décor and props for more than 120 operas with around 150,000 costumes were destroyed

It was rebuilt in 1949 and reopened on November 5 of 1955

The new auditorium had a reduced capacity of about 1,709 seats including 567 standing room places

It is without one of leading opera house of the world

It has a world wide reputation for its first-class opera performances

It is one of the busiest opera houses in the world producing 50 to 60 operas per year in approximately 200 performances

It employs over 1000 people

(The Orchesta from which the Vienna philharmonic recruits its members),notable personalities like Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss and Lorin Maazel who have shaped the destiny of this house

2009 marked the 140th anniversary of the Vienna opera house

Those in attendance often include visitors from around the world especially prominent names in business and politics