Vienna

Even though opera originated in Italy, the affects of opera on Viennese culture have been instrumental to Vienna’s development into the city that is seen today.  However, the introduction of opera and musical culture to Vienna was not a sudden event.  Vienna was known by merchants for being a convenient trading spot while travelling down the Danube River to transport goods to other European countries, but it lacked a cultural reputation that would allow it to develop into a powerful and culturally rich city.  The opportunity for Vienna to make a name for itself came in the form of the first Turkish invasion of Vienna.  After the successful repulsion of these Turkish invaders in 1529, the city gained an international reputation and became increasingly popular.   Descriptions of Vienna from 16th Century travelogues “testify to the metropolitan character of Vienna with strikingly tall buildings, but also narrow lanes, and altogether vibrant urban life”.  The return of the Habsburgs royal family transformed Vienna from a former military base and trading city to the capital of the Holy Roman Empire and residence of the Emperor. 

 

The second Turkish siege in 1638 affected the physical building structure of the city drastically.  Even though the Turkish invaders were again driven off, the city walls and individual buildings in the inner city suffered severe damage and the suburban areas were almost completely destroyed.  As reconstruction took place, the style of the city was altered and transformed Vienna into a baroque city that would soon become the cultural centre of Europe.  During the middle of the 17th Century, the Vienna Court Opera (also known as the Vienna State Opera) was established and was housed in various theatre buildings and contained a repertoire of mostly Italian operas.  Even though Vienna had many famous theatre companies, the operas that they performed were mainly in Italian and French, as they did not have their own unique style of opera.