Vienna State Opera
Each opera connoisseur, having fallen into Austria, seeks to visit the Vienna Opera, listen to the works of Mozart and Haydn, Beethoven and Gluck. But it’s worth visiting here and someone who does not like classical music at all. After all, the construction of the architectural structure was accompanied by many tragic and scandalous events.
History of appearance
Since the 17th century, Austrian possessions have been a huge empire, which at different times included the lands of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy and other states. For some time, the state was called the Holy Roman Empire. However, the appearance of the capital of the state of Vienna did not correspond to imperial ambitions. Therefore, the young emperor from the Habsburg dynasty, Franz Joseph I, decided to carry out a general restructuring of the center of the capital. And on the site of the ruins of the old bastion, build new grandiose buildings. Projects of buildings and candidates of architects were elected by an authoritative jury on a competitive basis, which is striking in an autocratic state.
Opera singing in Vienna has been booming since the middle of the XVII century. However, for more than two hundred years there was simply no special place for showing opera performances. Great composers, conductors and singers were forced to wander around other people's theaters in order to present their achievements to fans. Therefore, at first they took up the opera house. The initiator was Emperor Franz Joseph. The new theater was obliged to confirm the reputation of Vienna as the musical capital – of the city where Mozart and Gluck, Beethoven and Haydn worked. The size and luxury of finishing the structure was to emphasize the greatness of the Habsburg Empire.
Sunken chest
The architectural projects were won by architects Eduard van der Null and August von Sikardsburg, who have already erected many beautiful buildings. There was no reason to doubt success now. However, during the construction they were waiting for a number of unpleasant surprises. Near the construction site, multi-story residential buildings grew rapidly, as a result of which architectural proportions were significantly shifted.
When the building was already built, it turned out that the level of the roadway is located above the foundation of the theater. As a result, the theater, which does not have a high foundation or steps, and turned out to be too squat, the townspeople called it "flooded chest". Thus, they hinted not only at the non-casist appearance, but also at the high cost of the project.
Revelation of the emperor
Unfair criticism fell on the souls of architects with a heavy stone. Sikardsburg was sick at that time, and van der Nyul had to find out the emperor’s opinion alone. And Franz Joseph was extremely frank. He stated that he was in solidarity with the opinion of the people. And the costs are great. And the theater is similar, if not to the chest, then to the station. The day after this conversation, Null hanged himself. A month after the death of a friend, he died of a lung disease in Sikardsburg.
It is said that after that Emperor Franz Joseph promised himself never to criticize creative people. In memory of the architects, he ordered the production of a marble medallion with their profiles, and the placement in the theater building. On the cold May Day of 1869, the Vienna Opera building was still opened, but to this day he has not been able to survive. During World War II, he was bombed by the Americans. The Vienna Opera of our time – is a very successful and almost accurate reconstruction of the old, which against the background of modern buildings looks quite elegant and sophisticated.
