A Night at the Staatsoper.

Last night I went to the Staatsoper (state opera house) to see the ballet "Don Quixote." The opera house itself is a very cool building, located right in the heart of Vienna.

80 minutes before the start of each performance, the ticket office for "Stehplätze" (standing places) opens. There are three different categories of Stehplätze, and the tickets cost either 3 or 4 euro. 3 or 4 euro! To see a ballet at the Wiener Staatsoper, one of the most famous opera houses in the world! Inside the front entrance, I really liked the tiled floors.

The performance was beautiful. Although there wasn't really much of a plot to follow (it was really only loosely based on the book, and Don Quixote was a pretty minor character), it was all about the aesthetics. The dancing and costumes were very Spanish-/Flamenco-inspired, and it was very entertaining and impressive to watch. So entertaining that I didn't at all mind standing for almost 3 hours straight. Here are pictures of the performance hall.

View from our Stehplätze. Not too shabby.

After the first and second acts, there were intermissions. During the first intermission, we walked around and saw the different rooms. In the room in the picture below, they sell (pricey!) drinks and snacks at a little bar, and everyone stands around and eats and socializes. The variation in dress was really interesting. There were older women in gowns accompanied by men in nice suits (although I don't think I saw any tuxes.. I'm sure they were there, though), and at the same time people in jeans and T-shirts (mostly tourists). My roommate insisted on wearing jeans, because someone told her that it didn't matter how you dressed, but it just seemed a little disrespectful to me to make no effort whatsoever to look nice. I mean, it's the opera.. in Vienna! Obviously no one is going to kick you out if you're not dressed nicely enough, but for me, that's not really the point. The opera is a long tradition that has a special place in Vienna, and I think that deserves some respect.

I have to say that my night at the Staatsoper has been one of the coolest things I've experienced so far in Vienna, and I can't wait to see another performance there, maybe an opera next time.