Oper

Hans Pfitzner

Palestrina

Thursday 5. December 2024 18:00 – 22:15 2 Intermissions Main Stage
Werkeinführung
30 Minuten vor der Vorstellung
im Gustav Mahler-Saal
Subscription 17

Ticket information

Season 2024/2025

Choose a day of the week and your favorite seats and enjoy five performances in one season.

The following performances are included in this subscription:

19. September 2024: BALLET: SCHWANENSEE
05. December 2024: PALESTRINA
30. January 2025: DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE
06. March 2025: NORMA
03. April 2025: COSÌ FAN TUTTE


Cast at
5. December 2024

Papst Pius IV.

Giovanni Morone

Bernardo Novagerio

Kardinal Christoph Madruscht

Carlo Borromeo, römischer Kardinal

Kardinal von Lothringen

Abdisu, Patriarch von Assyrien

Anton Brus von Müglitz, Erzbischof von Prag

Graf Luna, Orator des Königs von Spanien

Bischof von Budoja

Theophilus, Bischof von Imola

Avosmediano, Bischof von Cadix

Giovanni Pierluigi Palestrina, Kapellmeister an der Kirche St. Maria Maggiore in Rom

Ighino, sein Sohn

Silla, sein Schüler

Bischof Ercole Severolus, Zeremonienmeister des Konzils

Dandini von Grosseto

Bischof von Fiesole

Bischof von Feltre

Spanischer Bischof

1. Kapellsänger

2. Kapellsänger

3. Kapellsänger

4. Kapellsänger

5. Kapellsänger

Erscheinung der Lukrezia, Palestrinas verstorbene Frau

1. Meister

2. Meister

1. Engelstimme

2. Engelstimme

3. Engelstimme

Inszenierung

Herbert Wernicke

Bühnenbild, Kostüme und Licht

Herbert Wernicke

2 more dates

Palestrina

Cast at Thursday 12. December 2024

Papst Pius IV.

Giovanni Morone

Bernardo Novagerio

Kardinal Christoph Madruscht

Carlo Borromeo, römischer Kardinal

Kardinal von Lothringen

Michael Kraus

Abdisu, Patriarch von Assyrien

Anton Brus von Müglitz, Erzbischof von Prag

Graf Luna, Orator des Königs von Spanien

Bischof von Budoja

Matthäus Schmidlechner

Theophilus, Bischof von Imola

Avosmediano, Bischof von Cadix

Giovanni Pierluigi Palestrina, Kapellmeister an der Kirche St. Maria Maggiore in Rom

Ighino, sein Sohn

Kathrin Zukowski

Silla, sein Schüler

Bischof Ercole Severolus, Zeremonienmeister des Konzils

Dandini von Grosseto

Bischof von Fiesole

Andrew Turner

Bischof von Feltre

Spanischer Bischof

1. Kapellsänger

2. Kapellsänger

3. Kapellsänger

4. Kapellsänger

5. Kapellsänger

Erscheinung der Lukrezia, Palestrinas verstorbene Frau

1. Meister

2. Meister

Andrew Turner

6. Meister

7. Meister

8. Meister

9. Meister

1. Engelstimme

2. Engelstimme

3. Engelstimme

Inszenierung

Herbert Wernicke

Bühnenbild, Kostüme und Licht

Herbert Wernicke
Area 1 232 €
Area 1

232 €

Area 2 190 €
Area 2

190 €

Area 3 153 €
Area 3

153 €

Area 4 108 €
Area 4

108 €

Area 5 86 €
Area 5

86 €

Area 6 62 €
Area 6

62 €

Area 7 39 €
Area 7

39 €

Area 8 29 €
Area 8

29 €

Area 9 16 €
Area 9

16 €

Standing room
Standing room

Included in: Subscription 18
Subscription 18

Season 2024/2025

Choose a day of the week and your favorite seats and enjoy five performances in one season.

The following performances are included in this subscription:

17. October 2024: MACBETH
14. November 2024: MANON
12. December 2024: PALESTRINA
27. March 2025: IOLANTA
26. June 2025: BALLET: DORNRÖSCHEN

Palestrina

Cast at Sunday 15. December 2024

Papst Pius IV.

Giovanni Morone

Bernardo Novagerio

Kardinal Christoph Madruscht

Carlo Borromeo, römischer Kardinal

Kardinal von Lothringen

Michael Kraus

Abdisu, Patriarch von Assyrien

Anton Brus von Müglitz, Erzbischof von Prag

Graf Luna, Orator des Königs von Spanien

Bischof von Budoja

Matthäus Schmidlechner

Theophilus, Bischof von Imola

Avosmediano, Bischof von Cadix

Giovanni Pierluigi Palestrina, Kapellmeister an der Kirche St. Maria Maggiore in Rom

Ighino, sein Sohn

Kathrin Zukowski

Silla, sein Schüler

Bischof Ercole Severolus, Zeremonienmeister des Konzils

Dandini von Grosseto

Bischof von Fiesole

Andrew Turner

Bischof von Feltre

Spanischer Bischof

1. Kapellsänger

2. Kapellsänger

3. Kapellsänger

4. Kapellsänger

5. Kapellsänger

Erscheinung der Lukrezia, Palestrinas verstorbene Frau

1. Meister

2. Meister

Andrew Turner

6. Meister

7. Meister

8. Meister

9. Meister

1. Engelstimme

2. Engelstimme

3. Engelstimme

Inszenierung

Herbert Wernicke

Bühnenbild, Kostüme und Licht

Herbert Wernicke
Area 1 232 €
Area 1

232 €

Area 2 190 €
Area 2

190 €

Area 3 153 €
Area 3

153 €

Area 4 108 €
Area 4

108 €

Area 5 86 €
Area 5

86 €

Area 6 62 €
Area 6

62 €

Area 7 39 €
Area 7

39 €

Area 8 29 €
Area 8

29 €

Area 9 16 €
Area 9

16 €

Standing room
Standing room

Included in: Subscription 22
Subscription 22

Season 2024/2025

Choose a day of the week and your favorite seats and enjoy five performances in one season.

The following performances are included in this subscription:

15. September 2024: LA TRAVIATA
03. November 2024: BILLY BUDD
15. December 2024: PALESTRINA
09. Febuary 2025: TOSCA
02. March 2025: BALLET: DIE KAMELIENDAME

About the production

The central theme in Pfitzner's Palestrina is the mystery of artistic inspiration.

Pfitzner sees the anchoring of the creative artist in his own inner world, which stands in sharp contrast to the hustle and bustle of external reality, as a prerequisite for this. Against the backdrop of the Council of Tridentine, the legend of the Renaissance composer Palestrina is told, who, in a creative ecstasy, creates the masterpiece in one night with which he saves an entire musical tradition from destruction.

Palestrina

Storyline

Silla, Palestrina's young pupil, has turned to the new direction in music coming from Florence and wants to leave his master.

Palestrina's son Ighino does not feel like singing. He is worried about his father, who has not written any music since the death of his wife Lukrezia and is sadly facing old age. Cardinal Borromeo sends his friend Palestrina a commission to compose a mass. This should convince the Pope that the tradition of polyphony can be combined with the clarity of the divine word. Otherwise, polyphonic music would be banned from the divine service by council decree. Palestrina does not see himself in a position to fulfill the cardinal's demand. Borromeo leaves him angrily. The masters of the art of music from the past appear to Palestrina and urge him to write the mass. In deep despair, he remains alone. Then he hears angelic voices, among them the voice of his wife Lucretia. As if under duress, he writes down what these voices tell him. In the morning, Ighino and Silla find the sleeping master. Ighino collects the scattered sheets of music: it is the completed mass composition that Palestrina wrote in one night.

The final session of the council does not go as the papal legates Morone and Novagerio would like.

They are commissioned by Rome to bring the meeting to an end, but the clash of political interests between church dignitaries, princes and nations prevents unified resolutions. Borromeo had Palestrina sent to prison. He put off the Council as far as the new mass composition was concerned. When a dispute arises between the Cardinal of Lorraine and Count Luna, Luna is provoked into making a provocative statement. Chaos descends on the council and the meeting is adjourned. Infected by their masters' agitation, the servants clash. Prince Archbishop Madruscht has the quarrellers shot and the survivors tortured.

Palestrina has returned home from prison broken. He is no longer involved in what is happening around him.

Ighino explains to him what has happened: in order to save his father, Ighino has handed in the loose sheet music to the college. Mass is now being sung in the papal chapel.

Singers in the chapel announce the joyful news that the mass has made a deep impression on the Pope and the cardinals. The Pope visits Palestrina personally to honor him. Borromeo, overwhelmed by the feeling of his guilt, begs Palestrina's forgiveness.

The master remains alone, lost in thought. He is barely touched by Ighino's joy and the news of Silla's final departure: Palestrina has completed his life's work.

Act 1 100 min
Intermission 30 min
Act 2 70 min
Intermission 25 min
Act 3 30 min

Director and set designer Herbert Wernicke created a kind of large concert hall with an organ as the setting for the action. He deliberately did not want to recreate the small room of a poor composer, but to create a space in which the music itself is thematized. At the same time, the white, gold and beige-gold of the stage set reflects the building of the Vienna State Opera, which reopened in 1955. This space is transformed by the different people who populate it in the course of the story.

Pfitzner's creative synthesis in Palestrina combines stylistic elements of Renaissance music with the achievements of his own late Romantic work.

The opera's libretto was also written by the composer. In terms of form, Pfitzner created a triptych with Palestrina: the first and third acts show the world of the artist Palestrina, while the middle second act is intended to reflect the hustle and bustle of the outside world, which is hostile to the work of the genius.

FAQ

Tickets for our standing room can be purchased online or at the Bundestheater box office from 10 am on the day of the performance. BundestheaterCard holders can book standing room tickets online the day before the performance.

In addition, a fixed contingent of standing room tickets is available for regular evening performances from 80 minutes before the start of the performance at our standing room box office (Operngasse entrance).

Our operas are sung in the original languages - these vary depending on the work.

At each seat, subtitles in different languages can be switched on or off via a separate subtitle screen. In addition to the original language of the opera, you can choose from up to eight languages: German, English, Italian, French, Russian, Japanese, Spanish, Chinese (Mandarin).

In the event of a change of performance, you can of course return or exchange your tickets.

As changes to the cast cannot be ruled out due to illnesses or other hindrances of artists, there is no entitlement to a refund of the ticket price or exchange in this case.

Tickets cannot be returned or exchanged if you are not admitted to the auditorium due to being late (even after the interval).

About Your Visit

Cloakroom

The cloakrooms are located next the the entrances at the Operngasse. You can find additional cloakrooms on the left and right side of the balcony and the gallery and in the boxes. All cloakrooms are free of charge.

Be on Time

We kindly ask you to arrive on time for the performances. Latecomers can only be admitted during the intermission. After the intermission, re-entry will not be possible.

Food and Drink

Our gastronomy opens at the same time entry is permitted. You can enjoy some snacks and drinks before the performance starts or you can book a table for the break.

Practical Information

You can find more practical information regarding your visit (e.g. Dresscode, barrier-free-access, …) here.

 

Discounts, Subscriptions, Cycles

Discounts

The Vienna State Opera has the following offers for discounted tickets:

  • U27
  • Children's & youth tickets
  • BundestheaterCard
  • Ballet Bonus
  • Ö1-Club
  • Culture pass "Hunger for art and culture"
  • Disabled pass
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Subscriptions

Choose a day of the week and your favorite seats and enjoy five performances.

  • 4x opera, 1x ballet
  • spread over the whole season
  • total savings of up to 30 % compared to the normal price
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Cycles

Buy several performances bundled in a package!

  • large selection of different cycles
  • summarized according to composers, performers or themes
  • spread over the whole season
  • up to 10 % discount compared to the normal price
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