I would love to attend an opera in one of these cities on our May 2005 trip. We're fairly new to operas having seen 6 or so in the past few years in NY. We'll be travelling with 2 couples who have never been to an opera, but are interested in a new experience.

Any info on which city's opera venue would be the most preferred. Our choices are:

Budapest: Il Travatore (Budapest Erkel Theater)

Prague: Cosi Fan Tutti, La Boheme, Lucia di Lammermor (Prague State Theater)

Vienna: Tales of Hoftman, Madame Butterfly
(Vienna Opera House)

Many thanks.

My husband and I went last year to see Rigoletto in Prague. It was fantastic and the theatre is magnificent. I cant help with the other two cities though.

i would recommend to see whatever you can in budapest during your stay. just to be in the opera house is fabulous.

we had very inexpensive tickets (3 euros) a few rows down from top, and the view was the best i have had in this type seats anywhere. (this was the only option of 4 seats together on internet for the night we wanted to see this ballet.)

the budapest stage is very wide and deep, facilitating good view even from top level. our seats were very central.the obstructed view seats are marked on internet with some type of signage.

after the opera we went to belcanto, (rest. next door) which was a fabulous dinner option with live music, the highlight of our trip. reserve, and ask for table on lower level near the music.

others gave me some more dining options which you can see on reports under my name. (click on my name). we will try to work them in on next trip!!!

budapest opera house:
www.jegymester.hu
here you can see in english the may activities and order easily on internet.

I've only attended the opera in Vienna of the places you mention. My sense is that Prague will be easier as a "walk-on" -- I have bought tickets in Vienna both from the theater itself [bad seats the day before]and through the hotel concierge -- great seats for $$$.

http://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/Cont...ninfo/2172.php They do have internet sales.

http://www.opera.hu/
http://www.jegymester.hu/index_eng.html
Online sales for Budapest

http://www.opera.cz/en/?sop=a145cfb2...be95c1853d45ba
They also have online ordering.
Both Budapest and Prague use an agent to sell tickets, rather than directly as Vienna does.

Happy warbling

I've been to the opera in Budapest & Vienna.

I agree the Budapest opera house is lovely - it's the old style with tiers of boxes all around, and very grand foyers and bars. We just got the concierge of our hotel (not a posh hotel) to get us tickets for the same evening & they were very cheap - c.£9 each, I think. We saw 'Tosca' sung in Italian with Hungarian surtitles; but from what I've read on another thread recently, it seems that maybe Hungarian operas are surtitled in English.

For Vienna we booked in advance by phone. Tickets go on sale one calendar month in advance. I think they were c.£30 each for good stalls seats. My husband started off in German but when it got a bit difficult, the operator was able to switch to English. A con for Vienna : the opera house was largely destroyed in WW2, was rebuilt in the 1950s & the interior was quite plain & ugly IMO. A pro for Vienna : on another thread, someone said recently that they now have the seat back sub titles in a choice of 4 languages.

The Budapest venue you mention is not the main opera house, whose qualities were extolled above. It is the smaller and less splendid one, in a less central location, though still in the core of the city:

Erkel Színház
VIII. Köztársaság tér 30, Tel: 333 0540, Box office open: Tue-Sat 10am-5pm (or until the start of the programme on performance nights), Metro: M2 Blaha Lujza tér

Knowing nothing about who is singing or directing, I would venture the following:

1. For first timers, Lucia is a tuneful, knock-your-socks off melodrama. On the other hand, it might strike neophytes as a bit TOO artificial.

And the finale is a let-down: the poor tenor warbles on, his heroine having "died" and left the stage after bringing the house down in the Mad Scene.

2. Mimi in Boheme is such an irritating character that I cringe. Great music though.

3. Cosi is utterly exquisite -- if you like a whole nightful of Mozart. Some do not.

{I could happily go home after "Soave sia il vento." A philistine? So sue me!} Exceptionally silly plot, too.

4. Hoffmann and Butterfly are pretty safe bets. I have never seen Trovatore live.