The Vienna Opera Ball is an annual Austrian society event which takes place in the building of the Vienna State Opera in Vienna, Austria on the Thursday preceding Ash Wednesday. Together with the New Year Concert, the ball is one of the highlights of the Viennese carnival season.
Vienna Opera House
The actress Mira Sorvino at the opera ball (2013)
Opera singer Margarita Gritskova singing an aria during the opening ceremony (2014)
Debutantes' entry during the opening of the ball (2014)
The Vienna State Opera is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll, and designs by Josef Hlávka. The opera house was inaugurated as the "Vienna Court Opera" in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth of Austria. It became known by its current name after the establishment of the First Austrian Republic in 1921. The Vienna State Opera is the successor of the old Vienna Court Opera. The new site was chosen and the construction paid by Emperor Franz Joseph in 1861.
Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera House under construction, 1865
Play bill for the opening performance of the new Opernhaus, announcing the opening performance of Don Giovanni on 25 May 1869
Coeval watercolour painting of the opening performance (Kunsthistorisches Museum)