Weekly update 018 - Farewell to Vienna

Fountain on the Austrian Parliament Building, Vienna, Austria

So it seems I cannot keep a regular posting schedule for the whole year. For a bunch of reasons, most of them of my own doing, I keep having some gaps on my content creation, which is one of the areas I'm trying to improve. Since the last post we have travelled to Rome, more on that later, started planning next year's big trip to the other side of the world and also gearing up to the Iceland trip next June.

Horse carriage under Hofburg Palace, Vienna, Austria

This week is the last post dedicated to the wonderful city of Vienna, and I'll leave you with a mixture of images that depict the great architecture found within the city. The top image depicts one of the many horse driven carriages that delight tourists as it takes them sightseeing across Vienna. Oddly, the trip passes through the inside of the Hofburg Palace, on an internal road that crosses the palace under a great domed ceiling shown below.

Ceiling of the Hofburg Palace, Vienna, Austria

Neue Burg Palace entry from the Burggarten, Vienna, Austria

Visiting Vienna during Easter is a bit of a gamble in terms of weather. This photo of the Neue Burg Palace taken on the first day there shows that temperatures were a bit cold, people are wearing heavy coats, and a bit of sunshine would make the sky a bit more interesting. On the other hand, it does capture the mood of a city in the centre of Europe during the colder months, and also made this nice park less appealing to most tourists. Also had to do a bit of work post-processing to remove scaffolding from part of the facade, as it was going through renovations. That is one of the most complicated things to deal with when doing travel photography. You can't just wait until the scaffolding comes down and take the picture then. So some monuments and vistas you must give up on, in Vienna this time I just didn't photograph the St. Stephan Cathedral in Stephansplatz because it was mostly covered by the works being done.    

Ankeruhr, Vienna, Austria

One of the most interesting clocks I've found during my travels is the one picture above, located at the Hoher Markt. This beautiful art-deco clock planted on the walls was created by Franz Von Matsch in 1911 and was commissioned by the Anker (Anchor) Insurance Co. At noon, this clock draws masses of tourists as it pipes out organ music and hauls historic figures round the clock.

Wiener Pestsäule, Plague Column on Graben Street, Vienna, Austria

One of the most well known sculptural pieces of art in the city of Vienna, is this strangely named Pestsäule, or in English, the Plague Column. Although also commonly known as the Dreifaltigkeitssäule (English: Trinity Column). n 1679, Vienna was visited by one of the last big plague epidemics. Fleeing the city, the Habsburg emperor Leopold I vowed to erect a mercy column if the epidemic would end. In the same year, a provisional wooden column made by Johann Frühwirth. The column was inaugurated in 1693, after more than 10 years after is was originally commissioned. 

The streets of the city centre are filled with impressive buildings and sculptures, and you can fill a very long book just with pictures of them. But since this series of posts must come to an end, lot's more cities and places to show, I selected these two to finish it. On the right is a great example of the ornamental work done on the buildings with statues being added to the facade, both at street level and above. And on the right is another view of the gothic masterpiece that is the Vienna City Hall.

Detail of building in the corner of Bognergasse and Tuchlauben, Vienna, Austria

Rathaus through the park, Vienna's City Hall, Vienna, Austria

With the end of the series dedicated to Vienna, next I'll be focusing on a small set of posts about the city of York and it's Railway Museum. Before that I'll publish a post with the first impressions of Rome, and the dailies I published during our stay there. 
Until then,
Keep wandering, keep looking...

weekly update 016 - Inside the Wiener Staatsoper

Main stairwell of the Vienna State Opera, Vienna, Austria

Welcome to the inside of the Wiener Staatsoper, known to all English speakers as the Vienna State Opera, one of the world's most iconic concert hall. On the 3rd week of this Vienna, I'm concentrating on the inside of this beautiful and legendary building which has been showcasing opera since 1869. If you have more than one day in Vienna, please do try to get tickets for the tour of the inside of the building, as you will get a glimpse of the glamour that an evening at the opera here holds. If you're a fan of opera on a budget, there is better news for you, since you can get tickets for €2 to €4 for all performances if you don't mind standing. These are available 80 minutes before the show starts and are in high demand from an eclectic clientele that is always keen to make their thoughts on the performance known.

The opera house was the first major building on the Vienna Ringstraße commissioned by the Viennese "city expansion fund". Work commenced on the house in 1861 and was completed in 1869, following plans drawn up by architects August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll. It was built in the Neo-Renaissance style by the renowned Czech architect and contractor Josef Hlávka. The building was, however, not very popular with the public. On the one hand, it did not seem as grand as the Heinrichshof. On the other, because the level of Ringstraße was raised by a metre in front of the opera house after its construction had begun, the latter was likened to "a sunken treasure chest".

Ceiling of the Schwindfoyer at the Vienna State Opera, Vienna, Austria

Towards the end of World War II, on March 12, 1945, the opera was set alight by an American bombardment. The front section, which had been walled off as a precaution, remained intact including the foyer, with frescoes by Moritz von Schwind, the main stairways, the vestibule and the tea room. The auditorium and stage were, however, destroyed by flames as well as almost the entire décor and props for more than 120 operas with around 150,000 costumes. 

The Austrian Federal Chancellor Leopold Figl made the decision in 1946 to have a functioning opera house again by 1949. An architectural competition was announced, which was won by Erich Boltenstern. Boltenstern decided on a design similar to the original with some modernisation in keeping with the design of the 1950s. In order to achieve a good acoustic, wood was the favoured building materia. In addition, the number of seats in the parterre (stalls) was reduced, and the fourth gallery, which had been fitted with columns, was restructured so as not to need columns. The façade, entrance hall and the "Schwind" foyer were restored and remain in their original style.

Inside Concert Hall of the Vienna State Opera, Vienna, Austria

The Vienna State Opera is closely linked to the Vienna Philharmonic, which is an incorporated society of its own, but whose members are recruited from the orchestra of the Vienna State Opera. The Wiener Staatsoper is one of the busiest opera houses in the world producing 50 to 60 operas in a repertory system per year and ten ballet productions in more than 350 performances. It is quite common to find a different opera being produced each day of a week. The Staatsoper employs over 1000 people.

Gustav Mahler was one of the many conductors who has worked in Vienna. During his tenure (1897–1907), Mahler cultivated a new generation of singers, such as Anna Bahr-Mildenburg and Selma Kurz, and recruited a stage designer who replaced the lavish historical stage decors with sparse stage scenery corresponding to modernistic tastes. Mahler also introduced the practice of dimming the lighting in the theatre during performances, which was initially not appreciated by the audience. Herbert von Karajan introduced the practice of performing operas exclusively in their original language instead of being translated into German. He also strengthened the ensemble and regular principal singers and introduced the policy of predominantly engaging guest singers. He began a collaboration with La Scala in Milan, in which both productions and orchestrations were shared. This created an opening for the prominent members of the Viennese ensemble to appear in Milan, especially to perform works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Richard Strauss.

Behind the stage at the Vienna State Opera, Vienna, Austria

I leave you this week with a view of the backstage area of the opera house. This is one of the areas of the building that is only viewable during the guided tour unless you happen to work there. The guided tour is definitely worth the time and money, as not only do you get access to areas off limits during performances, you also get to know a lot about the story and inner workings of the building and it is also the best way to photograph the interiors, especially if you get a small group and an understanding guide.

This post is very late, but I had a few technical issues to sort out in the meantime. Next post should also be up this week, focusing on the Schloß Schönbrunn during the Easter time.

Until then,
Keep wandering, keep shooting...