Editing Vienna State Opera (section)

====WW II bombing and redesign====
[[File:Wien Goetterdaemmerung 1944-06-30.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|Play bill of the last performance in the old building: ''[[Götterdämmerung]]'', 30 June 1944]]

Towards the end of World War II, on 12 March 1945, the opera was set alight by an American bombardment.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}} The auditorium and stage were destroyed by flames, as well as almost the entire décor and props for more than 120 operas with around 150,000 costumes. The front section, which had been walled off as a precaution, however, remained intact including the [[foyer]], with [[fresco]]es by [[Moritz von Schwind]], the main stairways, the vestibule and the tea room.  The State Opera was temporarily housed at the [[Theater an der Wien]] and at the [[Vienna Volksoper]].

Lengthy discussion took place about whether the opera house should be restored to its original state on its original site, or whether it should be completely demolished and rebuilt, either on the same location or on a different site. Eventually the decision was made to rebuild the opera house as it had been, and the main restoration experts involved were Ernst Kolb (1948–1952) and Udo Illig (1953–1956).

The Austrian [[Chancellor of Austria|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. The submissions had ranged from a complete restructuring of the auditorium to a replica of the original design; Boltenstern decided on a design similar to the original with some modernisation in keeping with the design of the 1950s. In order to achieve good acoustics, wood was the favoured building material, on the advice of, among others, [[Arturo Toscanini]]. 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.

In the meantime, the opera company, which had at first been performing in the Volksoper, had moved rehearsals and performances to [[Theater an der Wien]], where, on 1 May 1945, after the liberation and re-independence of Austria from the Nazis, the first performances were given. In 1947, the company went on tour to London.

Due to the appalling conditions at Theater an der Wien, the opera company leadership tried to raise significant quantities of money to speed up reconstruction of the original opera house. Many private donations were made, as well as donations of building material from the Soviets, who were very interested in the rebuilding of the opera. The mayor of Vienna had receptacles placed in many sites around Vienna for people to donate coins only. In this way, everyone in Vienna could say they had participated in the reconstruction and feel pride in considering themselves part owners.

However, in 1949, there was only a temporary roof on the Staatsoper, as construction work continued. It was not until 5 November 1955, after the [[Austrian State Treaty]], that the Staatsoper could be reopened with a performance of [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]]'s ''[[Fidelio]]'', conducted by [[Karl Böhm]].<ref>Tim Smith, [https://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/shows/viennaopera50/index.html "Vienna State Opera 50th Anniversary Reopening Gala: An Illustrious History"], p. 4, [[PBS]]. Retrieved 12 April 2013</ref> The American Secretary of State, [[John Foster Dulles]], was present. The state broadcaster [[Österreichischer Rundfunk|ORF]] used the occasion to make its first live broadcast, at a time when there were only c. 800 televiewers in the whole of Austria. The new auditorium had a reduced capacity of about 2,276, including 567 standing room places.<ref name="plan">{{cite web|title=Seating plan and admission prices|url=http://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/Content.Node/pageparts/stop_sitzplan.html|publisher=Vienna State Opera|language=de|access-date=17 July 2013}}</ref> The ensemble, which had remained unified until the opening, crumbled in the following years, and slowly an international ensemble formed.