Arts & Entertainment

Vienna State Opera offers museum tours as Covid keeps stage empty

Vienna, Feb 22 (efe-epa).- The Vienna State Opera has shifted its focus from overtures and arias to galleries and paintings to welcome visitors as a museum while Austrian theaters remain closed due to Covid-19 restrictions.

With the health crisis keeping the curtain down on live shows for now, officials at the famed opera house have designed a free guided tour on weekends to keep visitors on the property.

“The management has decided that we have to be present again, we have to have an audience again,” said Cesar Perez, who has been working at the opera for over 20 years, tells Efe.

“The important thing is that people remember the Opera and say: ‘I want to go back for a performance’,” he adds.

The tours are free, given that the theater receives government aid, Perez said.

However, donations from visitors — who must wear an FFP2 mask at all times — are welcome.

During the first weekend of guided visits, the opera collected nearly 4,500 euros for different projects with children and young people, according to organizers.

They added that the demand has exceeded their expectations after the first trial period, which took place between 12 and 14 February. EFE-EPA

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