The leading opera house in Europe. It was opened in 1869 as the royal opera house with "Don Giovanni" by Mozart as its first performance. During World War II it was destroyed by bombing and took 10 years to reconstruct. It reopened with "Fidelio" conducted by Bohm in November, 1955. Mahler, R・Strauss, Bohm, Karajan, Maazel, etc were all installed as general managers. Also, for many decades, the opera house has been the venue of the renowned Vienna Opera Ball.