Opera - First Night

Hi

I%26#39;ve had a look through the previous posts but cannot find the answer to my question.

I understand that more or less anything goes when it comes to dressing for the opera, but I%26#39;m going to the Opening Night of Die Zauberfl������te at the Volksoper in December, and wanted to know if this is the night that you really have to dress up.

Also, has anyone eaten at the Caf������ Weimar, as I was going to book it for a pre-opera dinner.

Thanks

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Woo hoo! Lucky you! I would love to go to that. I think I will go to this production in April but first nights at the Volksoper are such fun!

Yes, you can dress up but it%26#39;s not madly strict (the VO is very relaxed in atmosphere compared with the Staastoper, at least, that%26#39;s how it feels to me). So there will be lots of nicely dressed people but as Vertical says, no fashion police! I went to a first night there in June and wore what I think of as %26quot;smart restaurant clothes%26quot; - a skirt and nice top - not a long gown or anything like that - and I felt fine. Lots of women wear smart trousers too, so you can do that if you prefer.

I went to Cafe Weimar after a show in September and really loved it. It%26#39;s so cozy, the food is great and the waiter was a sweetie (he gave my friend a Tour of the Cake Cabinet telling her what all the unfamiliar goodies were which she very much enjoyed!) I would recommend it highly, and plan to go back - and I would guess that on a first night, you would need to make a reservation.

Hope that helps

rol

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Unfortunately, you will see a little of every tvpe of %26quot; Dress%26quot;

Most will dress nicely- a suit and tie for men- a nice dress for women. This is what I would recommend.

Some will appear in evening drees- some in Jeans. I would not recommend either style.

The Premiere evening ( assume that you refer to December 17 th)does not require evening or formal dress.

The Volksoper is less formal than the State Opera, but I believe that some respect should be shown to the cast, venue and the evening.

I often go to Cafe Weimar after the performances -- piano music begins at 19:30 --and I enjoy this in addition to the food and atmosphere. Excelent soup and pastry also.

Of course, the same menu is served before. A good place as it is only several hundred metres from the Volksoper.

If it is cold, try not to sit at the tables near to the windows.

The heating is immediately below the windows and it can get very warm.

Best , as you mention to pre-book.

I believe a regular poster here, Roley is often at the Volksoper and could provide good information about fashion etc.

Enjoy the evening.

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Sorry Roley- I did not check before posting and found you already there.

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Yep, that makes *me* the fashion police! :) But we defer to your local knowledge, Vertical - I was especially grateful for your tip about Cafe Weimar. I thought it was lovely and plan to go back often (since I seem to be at the Volksoper rather a lot!) I can%26#39;t wait to try their sheep%26#39;s cheese soup - are they likely to bring that out in October? I might drop by on the off chance!

r

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Thanks everyone for all of your advice.

I can%26#39;t wait to go, and hope my 7 year old enjoys it too - she speaks German, so she can translate for me :-)

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I want to thank all of you for your constantly creative and informative posts. It is my husband%26#39;s lifelong dream to be in Vienna for New Years. The worlds of time and money merged unexpectedly last month, so we are planning this %26quot;spontaneous%26quot; trip in December. We are such planners that a mere three months ahead seems reckless.:)

We have ordered tickets for the Volksoper and I too have been concerned about what to wear. Here in CA classical events are fairly informal. Thanks for the insight.

We want to hear as much as we can. Any other good ideas about musical events between Dec. 27-Jan 3? Other good restaurants? Day trips? I realize our dates aren%26#39;t ideal, drat those pesky Day Jobs that fund our travel.

Thanks for any and all tips.

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Glad to be of help!

One good place to look for events, stray concerts etc is the Vienna Tourist Information events database here:

www.nethotels.com/events/english/events.htm

I find this extremely useful for planning!

Ooh I say! The Wiener Symphoniker are doing Beethoven%26#39;s 9th at the Konzerthaus on 30-31 Dec %26amp; 1 Jan - I would love to go to that! See nethotels.com/release20/eventdetail_new.asp… and you can book tix at www.konzerthaus.at

This site has information about church services with music and concerts held in churches - again, I use this one a lot!

kirchenmusik-wien.at/referat/…dezember

Hope that helps

rol

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Roley- we are right on that Beethoven performance. Have you been to the Konzerthaus Great Hall before? Are front-row first balcony seats OK? We are both big people with long legs. Sometimes those front row seats have even less leg space. Willing to sacrifice comfort for good music, but since it appears we have a choice thought we would ask you first. Saw that Quasthoff is there sometime soon (deciphering with our pitiful command of the language). We heard him in London, well worth it if it coincides with your plans. Thanks for your quick response. We want to jump on those tickets.

Can%26#39;t wait to excavate the other links you provided. Much thanks.

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Ja I was slavering but good over that Beethoven, you lucky lucky things! I hope to go to that in May at the KH but not the Symphoniker boo hoo - they%26#39;re fabulous! I am a pleb %26amp; prefer them to the Philharmoniker.

I think the front row balcony seats will be ok for you but I haven%26#39;t sat up there myself. Generally speaking, Austrian venues are comfy compared with British ones where the seats are torture. I am 6%26#39; tall and a wide load (ahem) so it%26#39;s agony sitting thru something if the seats are bad! One problem I have with balcony seats is that my big feet are kind of squashed against the wall of the balcony and I can%26#39;t stretch out which can be a torment. So I prefer the stalls if I can manage it. Or take me shoes off, I regret to say!

I%26#39;ve only sat in the stalls at the Konzerthaus and the seats were extremely comfy. So I doubt they are too torturous up in the balcony! But if you can get stalls tix they might be advised ... the acoustic is good too. Yum yum! Colour me pea green!

xr