The Vienna State Opera is one of the top opera stages in the world, with an impressive 150-year history of offering the best in first-class productions. At around 300 performance days a year, it offers a different program every day and features more than 60 operas and ballet productions per season. The repertoire of the State Opera is diverse, ranging from the Baroque to the 21st century, with a focus on the 19th century.
Luckily, the Vienna State Opera is extremely open to children; it happens to be one of the top family friendly music institutions in Vienna. It´s offer for children and families ranges from special children´s productions to children´s concerts and events to their highly acclaimed Ballet Academy and Opera Academy.
There´s even a new, dedicated children´s opera stage, the Kinderoper Agrana Studio Stage Walfischgasse which is located just behind the main opera house (in the Walfischgasse, indeed). Altogether, over 13,500 children and young people attend performances at either the Vienna State Opera or the Agrana Kinderoper each year. In addition, 7,000 more get the chance to enjoy the “Zauberflöte für Kinder” on the day following that when the world-famous Wiener Opernball takes place.
Children under 14 years of age get a special reduction for most performances and concerts.
For schools, the Vienna State Opera offers a variety of special formats aimed at introducing children and youth beginning at age 6 to the opera and ballet. Besides special performances and concerts for schools, there are age-appropriate dancing and singing workshops. There´s also the “Wiener Staatsoper live@school”, a livestream program designed especially for schools. Additionally, groups of young people can attend rehearsals and book guided tours of the Vienna State Opera for an in-depth view into one of the world´s primary opera houses.
Talented children with an interest in ballet, singing and opera can enter the in-house Ballet Academy or the Opera Academy.
The Ballet Academy of the Vienna State Opera, along with the ballet schools in Paris and St. Petersburg, are some of the oldest schools for classical ballet in the world, with a history dating back to 1771. Young dancers get the chance to perform their skills during Tanzdemonstrationen (dance demonstrations) in November and at various matinees throughout the year.
The Opera Academy of the Vienna State Opera is an opera school and choir for boys and girls between the ages of eight and fourteen, which takes place in the afternoons after regular school. Here, the children are introduced to music theatre and life at the opera. They get the chance to perform on one of the world´s top opera stages during special demonstrations and various matinees. The best even get to perform in proper performances of children´s productions.