Classical concert · Vienna, Ringstraße
A chamber orchestra, opera singers and ballet dancers in the brick-red palace the Ringstraße built for its stock market.
Waltzes, overtures and arias in the palace the Ringstraße built for its stock exchange.
The palace
Theophil Hansen and Carl Tietz built the exchange between 1874 and 1877 in neo-Renaissance style, and Emperor Franz Joseph opened it on 14 March 1877. The exchange moved out in 1998. The halls are now hired for events, and the organiser lists the Börse among its concert rooms.
An orchestra, opera singers and ballet dancers share the programme, so the evening moves from overture to aria to dance and back. It is a lighter mix than a symphony night, which suits a first evening in Vienna.
Strauss waltzes and Mozart pieces anchor the evening. The organiser says the programme changes with the season and with the singers, so only the calendar entry for your date lists what will be played.
The programme sheet
A Viennese concert of this kind is built from forms rather than a fixed list: the overture, the serenade, the duet, the waltz, the operetta number and the dance. Each line below pairs a form with a piece the organiser names as a sample, and says what that piece is.
An overture is the orchestra's curtain-raiser for an opera. Mozart's Figaro opened at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 1 May 1786. Its overture is quick and light, an easy way into the hall.
Mozart finished this serenade in Vienna on 10 August 1787, with Don Giovanni's second act on his desk. It is scored for a small chamber ensemble, the scale of a chamber orchestra.
The Magic Flute opened in Vienna on 30 September 1791, two months before Mozart died, and it was his last opera. The comic duet of the bird-catcher and his bride gives the singers a turn in the spotlight.
Johann Strauss II composed it in 1866 and it was first performed on 15 February 1867 as a choral work. The orchestral version, which is the one concerts play, was a success at the Paris World's Fair that year.
An 1899 operetta named after a Strauss waltz of 1873. Strauss did not take part in making it, and its score reuses music he wrote for other works.
Ballet dancers appear alongside the singers. Guests describe the dance numbers as light and sometimes comic, which keeps the evening from feeling like a recital.
The pieces are samples from the organiser's own page, which says the programme changes with the season and the vocal soloists. Only the calendar entry for your date lists what will be played.
The building
The concert room is part of a building with a longer story than most concert halls. Here is the short version, in the order it happened.
The Börse in pictures
The corner of the building on the Ringstraße, the central front, the sculpted roofline, the courtyard that replaced the great hall and the Konzerthaus, where some dates are held.
Two Vienna concerts compared
An orchestra with opera singers and ballet dancers in the former stock exchange, with a reserved seat in the category you choose, a printed programme and a cloakroom. On some dates the concert is in the Schubertsaal of the Konzerthaus.
SuitsFirst-time visitors who want waltzes, arias and dance in one evening.
A separate candlelit concert from another organiser: a soprano, a tenor and a pianist perform Queen and Freddie Mercury songs in new arrangements, with operatic arias, in a church or the hall beside it. The ticket gives 50 minutes.
SuitsListeners who would rather hear opera voices in a rock-tribute programme than a classical one.
Two Vienna concerts side by side
The first card opens the Börse Palace concert. The second is a separate candlelit concert by another organiser, a different kind of Vienna evening to set beside it. More Vienna bookings sit in the strip below.
An orchestra with opera singers and ballet dancers in the former stock exchange, with a reserved seat in the category you choose, a printed programme and a cloakroom. On some dates the concert is in the Schubertsaal of the Konzerthaus.
See dates and seats ↗A separate candlelit concert from another organiser: a soprano, a tenor and a pianist perform Queen and Freddie Mercury songs in new arrangements, with operatic arias, in a church or the hall beside it. The ticket gives 50 minutes.
See dates and seats ↗Other things to book in Vienna
Plan the evening
Guides: the palace, the music and the evening
Which option, and how to book How to book the Börse Palace concert in Vienna: what the ticket covers, the two venues, seat categories, which date to pick and how it compares with others.
Read on → Finding the hall, your seat, the evening The practical guide to the Börse Palace concert in Vienna: finding the building, the Konzerthaus dates, seats, the cloakroom, dress and getting there.
Read on →FAQ
Usually in the old Stock Exchange palace, which the organiser lists at Wipplingerstraße 34, 1010 Wien. On some dates it moves to the Schubertsaal of the Konzerthaus, Lothringerstraße 20, 1030 Wien. The booking page shows the location for each option.
The ticket gives 1.5 hours, and the organiser calls its series over an hour of well-known works. Read 1.5 hours as the whole evening, with the music itself a little shorter, and check the start time in the calendar.
It depends on the date you pick. The organiser says the programme changes with the season and with the vocal soloists. Strauss and Mozart are the headline composers, and the organiser's own page shows a sample programme.
No. The Wiener Börse moved out of this building in 1998 and works from Palais Caprara-Geymüller. The old building is called the Alte Börse, and its halls are used for events such as this concert.
Yes. The ticket describes a concert with an orchestra, opera singers and ballet dancers, and guests mention all three.
You pick a category, not a seat. The organiser says historic Viennese halls mostly have no numbered seats and that staff show you to your place. Groups can usually sit together.
Admission, a reserved seat in your category, a printed programme and the cloakroom. Drinks are not part of the ticket's inclusions.
No. This is an independent guide. The orchestra, the building and the Konzerthaus are separate organisations, and every booking button opens GetYourGuide.
The organiser sells its own tickets, with its own terms. Pick one seller and read that seller's cancellation terms, because they differ from one booking page to the next.
Prices here are in US dollars for one adult. GetYourGuide shows them in your own currency when you book.