The curtain has risen on Olga Neuwirth's opera Orlando at the Vienna State Opera. The avant-garde composer's work examining gender fluidity was well-received, despite a few boos.
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For the first time in its 150-year history, the Vienna State Opera has celebrated the premiere of an opera written by a woman.
Olga Neuwirth's opera "Orlando" was hailed a success as the curtain lowered after the show on Sunday, despite a few boos in the audience, Germany's dpa news agency reported.
There were especially loud cheers for US mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey for her performance in the title role, and sustained applause for the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor and composer Matthias Pintscher.
An adaptation of the Virginia Woolf novel of the same name, "Orlando" carries the story into the present and deals with topics of gender fluidity, dispensing with the 1920s ending in the novel.
The libretto by French-US playwright Catherine Filloux retells the story of a young male aristocrat who lives forever and becomes a woman as the centuries go by.
Neuwirth has a reputation for being the "enfant terrible" of the Austrian music scene, and "Orlando" includes a number of experimental touches: The score demands some of the violins to be tuned lower by a quarter note, while the orchestra is accompanied by electric guitars, choirs and the State Opera's organ.
Opera houses of world renown
Opera houses are sacred temples of music and those who visit them are always part of a social event — sometimes even a glamorous ball. To this day that has not changed. Here are ten opera houses to fall in love with.
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The Vienna State Opera
Every year, the Vienna State Opera transforms into an elegant ballroom where 5,000 guests gather to waltz. For this, the seating is removed and a floor is installed. The Vienna Ball, which takes place on February 20 under the motto "The Queen of the Night", has invited the first same sex couple to dance together as "debutantes" for the first time in its 200-year history.
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The Semper Opera House, Dresden
The Semper Opera in Dresden was once again the setting for Germany's most beautiful ball. What is unique with the Semper Opera Ball is that not only the more than 2000 guests inside follow the gala program. It is also broadcast to the forecourt, where around 15,000 visitors sway to the sound of waltzes and turn the night into a glittering celebration.
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The Opera Garnier, Paris
Opened in 1875, it is one of Europe's largest opera houses. The building is a neo-baroque gem that is regarded in architectural history as a prime example of theatre construction. A special showpiece is the enormous marble staircase in the foyer, the perfect platform for vanities. The staging of the audience has always been at least as important as the staging on stage.
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The Teatro alla Scala, Milan
Opened in 1778, destroyed several times and rebuilt, the Scala is seen as the quintessential opera house. The annual season opening in December, kown locally as the "Inaugurazione," is celebrated with much pomp as a major social event. Many famous works were premiered here. The Scala will always be associated with one name: Maria Callas, a singer who set new global standards here in the 1950s.
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The Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow
A visit to the Bolshoi Theatre is an integral part of the schedule of any tourist visiting Moscow. After all, it is Russia's most renowned theatre for opera and ballet and one of the most beautiful theatre buildings in the world. The exquisite interior decoration dates from the middle of the 19th century and is still preserved in its original state to this day.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Thaler
The Metropolitan Opera, New York
The New York Metropolitan Opera has been around since 1880, but it wasn't until it moved to the elegant Lincoln Center building in 1966 that the "Met" became what it is today: one of the world's leading opera houses. For more than 20 years, fans around the world have been able to attend the performances: live broadcasts in selected cinemas around the globe are held on a regular basis.
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The Royal Opera House, London
The most important opera house in Great Britain was founded in 1732. More than 20 operas and oratorios by Georg Friedrich Händel were premiered here. It is not necessary to have an opera ticket to take a look at the building, which was completely renovated at the turn of the millennium. Several cafés and restaurants open their doors for a stylish start to the day from 10 a.m. onwards.
This opera house is one of the most photographed tourist attractions in Sydney. After 14 years of construction, the visionary building was opened in 1973. The roof construction reached the limits of what was possible at the time: Computers controlled by punched cards took 18 months to calculate the curvatures and statics of all the roofs.
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The Guangzhou Opera House, China
The building structures protrude into space like stones smoothly polished by the water of the Pearl River. This building by the Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid is considered by many fans of architecture and opera to be as groundbreaking for opera in the 21st century as once were the Paris Opera in the 19th century and the Sydney Opera for the 20th century.
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The Royal Opera House, Copenhagen
In Copenhagen, you can go to the opera by boat. The spectacular building stands on an island opposite Amalienborg Castle and was a gift from the Danish billionaire Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller. After four years of construction, the 335 million euro (383 million $ US) building was inaugurated in 2005. Opera fans come from everywhere - because of the exciting architecture and the great acoustics.
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"The piece demands that everyone take a leap of faith. Everyone must move out of their comfort zone," Neuwirth told reporters.
The character, Orlando, is constantly finding ways to break rules, the composer told Germany's Focus magazine. "The fictional character is seeking a different kind of beauty, by not accepting social standards and striding creatively through the world," she said.
Neuwirth's previous work includes an opera adaptation of the David Lynch film Lost Highway.
Some of the musicians, who are mostly Vienna Philharmonic members, have reportedly been unhappy about the music in "Orlando." The Vienna daily Die Presse wrote that some had left rehearsals in an "aggressive mood." But others in the orchestra pit have reportedly been enthusiastic.
The opera premiered as the opera house's current director Dominique Meyer ends his 10-year tenure in Vienna to take up a post at La Scala opera House in Milan. He has previously commissioned other avant-garde works.
