1955: Opening of the Burgtheater and the State Opera

In the fall of 1955, the State Opera and the Burgtheater were able to move into their own venues. The reopening of the two buildings that had been destroyed in the final days of the war were – a few months after the signing of the State Treaty – staged as a celebration of the new, independent Austria.

On October 14, 1955, the restored Burgtheater – in its original form as a box (loge) theatre – opened with Mozart’s Kleiner Nachtmusik, followed the next day with the highly symbolic “Austrian national play”, Grillparzer's König Ottokars Glück und Ende; it was performed in the presence of the Federal President Theodor Körner (1873–1957). While thousands of Viennese lined the Ringstrasse, there was a live broadcast of the performance on television – still at an experimental stage and only available to few viewers at the time.

On November 5, 1955, the reopening of the State Opera followed – also with a live broadcast: “the crowning jewel of our freedom” was the headline in the socialist workers’ newspaper the next day. The building was reopened with Beethoven’s Fidelio under the musical direction of conductor Karl Böhm (1894–1981). He had already held this position from 1943–1945, but was removed by the Allies because of his intimate relationship to the Nazi regime; only after the signing of the State Treaty was he once again appointed conductor of the State Opera.

Here, you will soon be able to listen to a radio broadcast of Karl Böhm’s speech on the occasion of the opening of the Vienna State Opera (in German):

“What’s more, I was inspired by the thought that back then, when this building fell victim to the bombs, I stood at the head of this institution as its director. That it appears my very person thus creates a certain continuity leading from yesterday to today. If, today, this continuity manifests itself so harmoniously, so organically, this is not least thanks to the commendable men and artists, who, in the meantime, have kept the Vienna Opera going and preserved its ideals—an astonishing achievement that has attracted interest from around the world.”

Transcription of Karl Böhm’s speech at the reopening of the Vienna State Opera, 5 November 1955, Österreichischer Rundfunk ORF