The Graz Opera (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: Oper Graz) is an Austrian

opera house An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

and opera company based in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

. The orchestra of the opera house also performs concerts as the Graz Philharmonic Orchestra (''Grazer Philharmonisches Orchester'').

History

Opera had been performed in Graz since the 17th century, originally in a converted coach house on the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

royal estates. The National Theatre (Schauspielhaus Graz), constructed in 1776, saw many early performances of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

's operas, although today (after many reconstructions) it is devoted to the performances of plays. The city's first dedicated opera house and the immediate predecessor of the Graz Opera was the Thalia Theatre, adapted in 1864 from an old circus hall. Plans for a new theatre suitable to the growing size and importance of the city and intended to be a "new home for German art" were first proposed in 1887. Designed by

Ferdinand Fellner Ferdinand Fellner (19 April 1847 – 22 March 1916) was an Austrian architect. Biography Fellner joined his ailing father's architecture firm at the age of nineteen. After his father's death he founded the architecture studio Fellner & Helmer ...

and Herman Helmer in the

neo-baroque Neo-Baroque may refer to: * Neo-Baroque music * Neo-Baroque painting, a painting style used by Christo Coetzee and others *Baroque Revival architecture * Neo-Baroque film *the Organ reform movement The Organ Reform Movement or ''Orgelbewegung'' ...

style, the Graz Opera was inaugurated in 1899 with a performance of Schiller's play ''

William Tell William Tell (, ; ; ; ) is a legendary folk hero of Switzerland. He is known for shooting an apple off his son's head. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albrecht Gessler, ...

'', followed a few days later by Wagner's opera ''

Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which first appears in Wo ...

''. The building suffered damage during World War II bombings but was repaired and re-opened after the war. Between 1983 and 1985, it underwent a $15 million renovation which saw the installation of modern equipment and facilities without significantly changing the original exterior and interior of the building. Today, the opera seats around 1,200 people. The current ''Intendantin'' of the company is Nora Schmid, since 1 January 2015, in succession to Elisabeth Sobotka. Schmid is scheduled to stand down as ''Intendantin'' after the 2022–2023 season. In November 2021, the company announced the appointment of Ulrich Lenz as its next ''Intendant'', effective with the 2023–2024 season. Past general music directors (GMD) of the company have included Niksa Bareza (1981–1990),

Philippe Jordan Philippe Jordan (born 18 October 1974) is a Swiss conductor and pianist. Biography Born in Zürich, the son of conductor Armin Jordan, he began to study piano at the age of six. At age eight, he joined the Zürcher Sängerknaben. He has ackno ...

(2001–2004),

Johannes Fritzsch Johannes Fritzsch (born 1960 in Meissen, East Germany) is a German conductor. Biography Fritzsch's father, a cantor and organist, was his first music teacher, in piano and organ. His brother Georg Fritzsch (born 1963) is also a conductor. His ot ...

(2006–2013), and

Dirk Kaftan Dirk Kaftan (born 1971) is a German opera and concert conductor. Career Born in Marburg, West Germany, Kaftan grew up in Wittlich and Canada. At the age of 18 he began employment as a repetiteur at the Theater Trier. Kaftan then studied sound ...

(2013–2017). In the autumn of 2016,

Oksana Lyniv Oksana Yaroslavivna Lyniv (; born 6 January 1978) is a Ukrainian conductor, since 2022 music director of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna. She founded the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine in 2016. She conducted on 25 July 2021 the opening of t ...

made her first guest-conducting appearance with the company, in a production of '' La traviata''. In February 2017, the company announced the appointment of Lyniv as its next GMD, effective with the 2017–2018 season. Lyniv is the first female conductor to be named GMD of Graz Opera. She concluded her tenure in Graz at the end of the 2019–2020 season. In December 2018, the company announced the appointment of Roland Kluttig as its next principal conductor, effective with the 2020–2021 season, with an initial contract of 3 seasons. Kluttig is scheduled to conclude his tenure at the close of the 2022–2023 season. In December 2022, the company announced the appointment of Vassilis Christopoulos as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2023–2024 season.

General Music Directors (GMD; partial list)

Herbert Albert Herbert Albert (26 December 1903 – 15 September 1973) was a German conductor. Albert was born in Bad Lausick and died in Bad Reichenhall. After studying with Karl Muck as a pianist he later held a succession of music director positions in ...

(1950–1952) *

Berislav Klobučar Berislav Klobučar (28 August 192413 June 2014) was a Croatian opera conductor. He conducted the Vienna State Opera for more than four decades, and guest conductor at the Bayreuth Festival. __TOC__ Biography Born in Zagreb on 28 August 1924, Klo ...

(1960–1971) * Nikša Bareza (1981–1990) *

Mario Venzago Mario Venzago (born 1948) is a Swiss conductor. Biography Venzago began piano studies at age five. He studied at the conservatory and the university in Zurich. He later studied conducting with Hans Swarowsky in Vienna. His other positions h ...

(1991–1994) *

(2001–2004) *

(2006–2013) *

(2013–2017) *

(2017–2020) * Roland Kluttig (2020–2023) *

Vassilis Christopoulos Vassilios or Vassileios, also transliterated Vasileios, Vasilios, Vassilis or Vasilis (), is a Greek given name, the origin of Basil. In ancient/medieval/Byzantine context, it is also transliterated as Basileios. It is directly descended from the wo ...

(2023-present)

References

Sources

*Stråth, Bo (1999)
''The Postmodern Challenge''
Rodopi.

External links

*
Official website of Oper Graz
{{Theatre in Austria Opera houses in Austria Fellner & Helmer buildings Music venues completed in 1899 Buildings and structures in Graz Tourist attractions in Graz Theatres completed in 1899 1899 establishments in Austria-Hungary Culture in Graz