Standing Room at the Vienna State Opera
On the recommendation of Karolina, I made seeing the opera a priority on my list of things to do in Vienna. I began lining up for La Traviata about 5 hours before the performance began and there were already about 20 people in line, mostly older gentlemen. Tickets were sold out and the only way I was going to be able to get a seat was in the standing room section. Apparently, there were far more people than usual because Anna Netrebko was performing. I’m afraid I’m not too well-versed in opera stars, but I’m told she’s a big deal.
While waiting in line, you could tell who the locals were – they had little folding chairs, while tourists like me sat on the ground as the wind blew an assortment of Viennese dust into our faces.
The woman next to me in line kindly explained the procedure for the standing room: some people start waiting in line in the mornings for the really popular performances. 3 hours before the performance starts, the exterior doors open and the line moves forward and inside a bit. 80 minutes before the show begins, the standing room ticket office opens. After purchasing your ticket for 3 (balcony and gallery) or 4 (floor level) euros, everyone makes a mad dash for the doors leading into the seating area. You are instructed by the attendents to line up two by two and they’re pretty strict about it. And they’re really good at ensuring that everyone keeps their proper place in line. Skipping ahead will get you booted. From there, you are led to the standing room area, and there is another frenzied commotion as people squeeze and shove into their desired spots. On the floor level, I managed to get the third row, which offered an amazing view. I was actually closer to the stage than some of the 200 euro seats. When you have secured your spot, you are given instructions to mark your place with an article of clothing or something and then you have about an hour to wander around before the performance. Many thanks to Juanita for the travel scarf! Otherwise I would have ended up using a sock or something.
For Wagner’s Die Walkure on Wednesday, the only tickets available are the 200 euro tickets. As much as I enjoy the opera, I can’t justify 200 euros. Since I still have some writing to catch up on, I’m going to kill two birds with one stone and sit for a few hours on Wednesday afternoon outside the opera house. However, I was warned by someone in line that Die Walkure is about five hours. It’ll be quite an experience.
More on the performance of La Traviata in a later post.
May 5th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Wow Netrebko? She is good! Glad you enjoyed it