In this issue, we introduce you to the opera house “Oper Graz” in Graz, Austria. In this issue, I would like to introduce how to arrange and exchange opera and graz tickets, as well as the beautiful grand staircase and foyer of the Opera House.
Index
Oper Graz tickets and seating chart
As for the ticket for Oper Graz, I purchased it from the HP of Oper Graz as usual.
There is no language switching to English and you need to proceed in German, but there is no problem because there is a Google translation. If you select a performance → seat from the schedule (Calendar), register as a member (Free) and pay by credit card, you will receive an e-mail with a ticket exchange number.
You can choose your seat precisely without any problem! Moreover, there are not limited seats like Garnier in Paris, and it is nice that almost all seats are open to the public.
Here’s a map of the seats in each category. There are up to 1 ~ 6 categories, but the view of the last seat of Hiradoma on the 1st floor is quite different from that of Category 4.
Here’s the price list for this season (2017 -2018):. Basically, all opera performances have the fourth price from the top, but the price for the first performance is the same as other opera houses. That’s a fraction of the €250 cost of the Vienna State Opera in the 1st category! At times like this, you want to enjoy it at a good seat.
Access to the venue and the exterior of the Opera House
The location of opera graz is in front of the Kaiser Josef Platz/Oper stop, two stops from the central square on tram 1 or 7.
Founded in 1899, Oper Graz has been around for over 100 years. The tram stop doesn’t look very impressive, but it’s actually behind the building, with the main entrance on the other side.
There is an entrance near the central plaza, so if you come from the plaza, it might be faster to walk without taking a tram.
This time, I will watch the opera “The Marriage of Figaro” which starts at 7 PM. When illuminated, the whiteness of the wall really stands out.
Exchange for the actual ticket
When you enter, there is an entrance lobby, and here is the window that says “ABENDKASSA”. This is the ticket office, so I will give you the reservation number that I received by email after the ticket payment and exchange it for the actual ticket.
The ticket office is open on weekdays at 9: 00 ~ 18: 00 and Saturdays at 9: 00 ~ 13: 00 (excluding Christmas holidays, etc.).
I exchanged it on the day of the performance this time, but the mail I received when the ticket was issued says “30 minutes before the curtain time.” so if it’s going to be late, it might be safer to exchange it in advance.
The doors open 30 minutes before the show starts, but the entrance lobby was opened 1 hour before and the foyer was opened 45 minutes before. In Vienna, 40 minutes before the curtain time, there were already a lot of people there, and the conversation was flourishing, but here in Graz, it’s much calmer (laughs).
Go up the stairs to the audience!
Then, I will go up the big staircase to the audience seats! At the opera theater, in the case of a seat on the 1st floor with a flat earthen floor, people often go down the passage beside the big staircase, but this time, because my seat is on the top floor called “Galerie Mitte”, I can go up this big staircase without complaint!
There are stairs at the back of this lobby, so you can go upstairs without going up these big stairs, but it’s not that boring. But I could get off smoothly if I went there after the performance when there were many people.
The entrance hall in the atrium is synonymous with opera houses in many countries, but the opera house here in Graz is rather small. It’s a little hard to see, but you can see the portraits of historical composers such as Beethoven around the ceiling.
The entrance to each floor is like this. It is a “backstage” with a low ceiling, simple space with no decorations, but with the dignity of a red carpet.
However, only the top floor was different and it was a special place with a ceiling and sofa like this. There is also a cafe and restaurant next door. It’s a little modern space that doesn’t look like the inside of a historical building.
The entrance of the seat “Galerie Mitte” this time is here! I checked my ticket here for the first time, but in other words, I think I can enter this foyer without a ticket.
The beautiful seats and the contents of the opera “The Marriage of Figaro” will be continued next time!
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