The Theater an der Wien, part of Vereinigte Bühnen Wien (VBW), a company of Wien Holding, is one of Vienna’s most beautiful and historically significant theatres. Since 2006 it has operated as an innovative stagione opera house of international standing. In spring 2022 the extensive renovation and modernisation was begun that is so desperately needed. The last time the Theater an der Wien was renovated from top to bottom was 1962.

Now the building is undergoing a comprehensive and lasting refurbishment, inside and out, to preserve the historic opera house for the coming generations, to meet the requirements of patrons, artists and staff in terms of safety and comfort, and to ensure state-of-the-art operatic performances for a long time to come. The work will be carried out in accordance with the preservation orders to which parts of the theatre, such as the so-called Papageno Gate on Millöckergasse and the auditorium, are subject.

On 27 January 2023 Peter Hanke, councillor responsible for the economy and finance on Vienna city council, Wien Holding CEO Dr Kurt Gollowitzer and local council leader Markus Rumelhart visited the Theater an der Wien to see for themselves how the refurbishment was progressing. VBW CEO Dr Franz Patay and MusikTheater an der Wien director Stefan Herheim welcomed the visitors and gave them a tour of the historic theatre.

“One of the pillars on which Vienna’s national and international reputation as one of Europe’s leading cities for culture rests is the Vereinigte Bühnen Wien with their four venues,” says Peter Hanke, councillor responsible for the economy and finance on Vienna city council. “Artistic director Stefan Herheim recently received the International Opera Award as the world’s best stage director. That’s why we are committed to investing in the future of our theatres. Following the Ronacher and the Raimund Theater, which was given a thorough makeover in 2021, it is now the turn of the Theater an der Wien to be refurbished and modernised from top to bottom. Small but urgently needed renovations will also take place at the Kammeroper during the summer months. This investment strengthens Vienna’s standing as a city of culture and tourism, creates added value and safeguards jobs.”
 
“The renovation and modernisation of the historic Theater an der Wien is currently in full swing,” says Wien Holding CEO Kurt Gollowitzer “Wien Holding sees this as urgent and necessary to ensure that the opera house is fit for the future for many years to come. The refurbishment includes improvement of the fabric of the building, the plumbing and electrics, renovation of the front and rear, its opening onto Naschmarkt and construction of a traffic-calmed zone in Millöckergasse. The work will take approximately two years and will ensure that this successful, historic opera house has an equally dazzling future.”
 
“As we did with the extensive refurbishment of the Raimund Theater, we as a district would like to take the opportunity to increase the attractiveness of the public space around the Theater an der Wien,” explains Markus Rumelhart, council leader in Vienna’s 6th district. “Together with the Vereinigte Bühnen Wien we want to create a modern entrance to the opera house for its patrons as well as an attractive street layout for the residents.”
 
“It was high time that the Theater an der Wien was given a comprehensive and lasting upgrade to preserve this historic municipal theatre for the coming decades and to allow our patrons to experience state-of-the-art opera,” says Franz Patay, CEO of the Vereinigte Bühnen Wien. “Our thanks go to the City of Vienna for enabling us to follow the renovation of the Ronacher and more recently the Raimund Theater with a complete refurbishment of the Theater an der Wien, thus ensuring that we can continue to present musical theatre productions of the very highest quality according to the stagione principle at one of Vienna’s most significant cultural sites.”
 
“The comprehensive refurbishment of the Theater an der Wien, where geniuses such as Schikaneder, Beethoven, Offenbach, Nestroy, Strauss and Lehár once wove their spell, not only preserves part of our cultural heritage but also does justice to the vitality of a musical theatre in which the past and the future are united in the present in art and through art,” says Stefan Herheim, artistic director of the MusikTheater an der Wien. “Just as I am fired up about achieving this, I am also looking forward to exploiting the increased scope afforded for productions at the Theater an der Wien.”
 

Refurbishment of the Theater an der Wien – Project Status
The renovation and modernisation of the Theater an der Wien are in full swing. The complete refurbishment of the historically significant theatre — it is the oldest opera house in Vienna — is scheduled to take around two years. It is currently closed for two seasons. During this time, artistic director Stefan Herheim, recipient of numerous international accolades, will be presenting the theatre’s works in Halle E of the MuseumsQuartier. The opera house is scheduled to reopen in renewed splendour in the autumn of 2024.
 
As prime contractors, the building firm (Bauunternehmung Granit Gesellschaft mbH), the building services company (Ing. Georg Wiesenthaler GmbH) responsible for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, plumbing, control and measurement systems and electrical engineering, and the electrical engineering company (EAG Elektroanlagenbau GmbH) are currently completing the demolition and dismantling work and starting on structural engineering and work on the building fabric. The foundations in the section occupied by the orchestra pit are also under construction, and damp areas of the basement levels are being drained.
 
The units responsible for the technology needed for the stage machinery, sound, video, media, stage management and stage lighting for productions begin their work in January and February. The first finishing trade units also start at the beginning of the year. Tendering processes for further finishing and stage technology trades are currently either under way or in preparation. Overall, tenders have already been invited for 75% of the works.
 
Planning permission has been granted, and the Office for the Care of Monuments has approved the refurbishment and modernisation. According to the planning application, the auditorium is to be returned to the appearance it had in the 1980s.
 
The milestones in the planning phase, preparation of execution and the execution itself have all been reached. It has proved necessary to revise the time schedule on several occasions owing to situations encountered during demolition work and work on the building fabric. However, this has not so far affected the scheduled date of completion or the date of the planned reopening of the Theater an der Wien in autumn 2024.
 
Construction planning and execution, project management
A consortium consisting of L-Bau-Engineering and Riepl Kaufmann Bammer Architektur is responsible for planning and execution. In consultation with the proprietor, this consortium was deemed to offer the best conditions following a tendering procedure for overall planning. The L-Bau-Engineering / Riepl Kaufmann Bammer Architektur GbR consortium consists of architects and engineers based in Vienna and Linz who have experience and expertise in constructing music venues (Baden-Baden, Salzburg Festival, Landestheater Linz) and renovating listed public buildings (University of Applied Arts, Austrian Academy of Sciences). Responsibility for the construction project’s management rests with WIP Wiener Infrastruktur Projekt GmbH, a company of the Wien Holding subsidiary WSE Wiener Standortentwicklung GmbH.
 
Overview of the refurbishment project as a whole
In detail, the complete renovation and modernisation concerns the following parts of the historic theatre: renovation of the facades in accordance with the requirements of the Office for the Care of Monuments; draining measures. New safety and fire protection installations are urgently needed: fire-containment sections and the installation of fire alarms are planned. The electrical fittings, heating, ventilation system and plumbing are to be completely replaced.
 
A reorganisation of rooms to the rear of the building will make better use of the available space and enable the use of rooms that have hitherto been empty. A canteen is planned for artists and staff of the VBW. The entire stage technology is to be overhauled and updated to ensure productions that in future meet the latest standards. In the stage area, no more weight can be placed on the flies and reinforcement of their structure is urgently required to enable state-of-the-art productions.