HOUSE RULES OF VOLKSOPER WIEN GmbH
in accordance with the Vienna Event Venues Act [Wiener Veranstaltungsstättengesetz]
These House Rules, in accordance with the Vienna Event Venues Act, govern the terms and conditions to be observed by visitors, employees of the Volksoper and other persons attending the Vienna Volksoper as well as all other performance and rehearsal venues operated by the Volksoper (hereinafter referred to as "the Volksoper"). These House Rules serve to ensure security, safety and good order and in particular adherence to orderly operating procedures. Upon entering the Volksoper or upon acquiring/possessing an admission ticket, each person shall acknowledge these House Rules.
I. Entry to the Volksoper
Entry to the Volksoper is permitted to persons not employed in-house only in the following instances – restricted to the relevant rooms and areas:
a) For the acquisition of tickets and information during scheduled box office opening times;
b) For the purpose of attending events with a valid admission ticket;
c) For the purpose of visits in the context of organized guided tours, whereby it shall be obligatory to comply with the instructions of the tour guides;
d) For the purpose of compliance with official requirements within the framework of a particular area of operations;
e) Staff of companies and suppliers engaged in-house further to registration with the porter;
f) Other persons not employed in-house may only enter the premises further to registration with the porter and having been met by a competent member of staff.
Persons against whom a prohibition on entering the premises has been declared shall in any event not entitled to enter the Volksoper until such prohibition is revoked.
II. General provisions
a) The offering for sale and sale of admission tickets in the area of the Volksoper by persons other than those authorized so to do by the Volksoper shall be prohibited.
b) The carrying of items which could constitute endangerment to persons or property shall not be permitted. Excluded shall be service weapons of law enforcement officers on duty.
c) Animals may not be brought into the premises. Excluded shall be the use of animals for staging purposes, as well as guide dogs and assistance dogs (accompanied by formal ID) for disabled persons. Guide dogs must wear an appropriate harness, while assistance dogs must wear a lead and a muzzle. Exceptions are subject to approval by the management.
d) Smoking and the lighting of tobacco goods and similar, as well as the use of naked flames shall be prohibited in the theatre unless permitted in particular rooms or particular instances. The costs of any false fire alarm shall be borne in full by the party giving rise to such alarm. The prohibition on smoking shall also extend to the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes).
e) Food and drink may only be consumed in the rooms provided for such purpose and may on no account be taken into the auditorium.
f) All traffic routes and exits must be kept unobstructed during events.
g) All entrance and exit doors must be kept unlocked from the time of admission of visitors until immediately following departure from the premises by the last visitor. Immediately following the end of a performance, the auditorium doors must be opened and kept open until after visitors have departed the building.
h) The relevant child protection provisions must be observed.
i) Wheelchair users may attend events and visit the buffet in the ticket foyer only in so far as approved spaces are available. Persons with severe mobility impediments, in particular those dependent on walking aids (e.g. rollators), may not use either seats or spaces on the balcony or the gallery, for safety reasons.
j) Waste must be disposed of in the containers provided for such purpose. The event rooms shall be cleaned on a daily basis prior to the beginning of a performance.
k) In the event of any damage to fixtures and fittings not arising as a result of ordinary wear and tear, as well as any unauthorized handling or operation of equipment, the person causing the damage shall bear full liability.
l) The officially-approved audience number may not be exceeded. Seats may only be occupied in accordance with entitlement based on an admission ticket or in accordance with instructions from the audience service and/or employees of the Volksoper. Standing places are only permitted in the areas specifically intended for such purpose. Any unauthorized change of place shall not be permitted, and in the event of a person moving to a (better) seat, the price difference in relation to the standing or seat ticket may be claimed, or the visitor may be asked to leave their seat or, in the event of refusal to do so, to leave the event.
m) When using child seats, only the child seats provided by the Volksoper may be used, whereby use shall be in the prescribed manner. Only children shall be permitted to use child seats.
n) It shall be obligatory to comply with the instructions of the house fire service, the audience service, the monitoring staff and employees of the Volksoper given in execution of their duties.
III. Conduct in the event of fire or hazard
a) In the event of an evacuation, it shall be necessary to leave the Volksoper swiftly and without impeding other persons, using the marked escape routes and without collecting items from the cloakroom. Elevators may not be used. It shall be necessary to comply with instructions of Volksoper employees, the audience service and members of the emergency services.
b) In the event that visitors or employees should notice or become aware of a fire or other hazard, the audience service or in-house fire service must be notified immediately. Where relevant, a fire alarm must be operated.
c) In accordance with Section 23 (1) of the Vienna Event Venues Act 1978, flammable liquids or items constituting a fire risk may neither be kept or used in the premises of the theatre. Exceptions shall only be possible pursuant to the terms of Section 23 (1) and (2) of the said Act (workshops and storage rooms, whereby such items may only be stored in cabinets for storing hazardous substances; official production permits; medical and make-up rooms).
d) Welding and cutting work, as well as any use of naked flames or work involving high temperatures, shall only be permissible subject to an authorization certificate from the in-house fire service or under the supervision of the latter.
IV. Conduct in conjunction with events
a) When conducting a clearance inspection tour of the Volksoper, the entire emergency lighting and a sufficient proportion of the main lighting must be in operation, and the supplementary lighting must be functional.
b) The lighting – including the emergency and supplementary lighting – may only be switched off once the audience and employees have left the theatre.
c) Following clearance further to a security and safety inspection tour, the Volksoper shall be opened to visitors. At this point in time, the rooms must be sufficiently lighted and the emergency lighting must be switched on.
d) Any handling by unauthorized persons of technical equipment including, inter alia, the lighting equipment and all mechanical facilities, shall be prohibited.
e) Entry to the auditorium and the adjacent rooms intended for the audience shall only be permitted with a valid admission ticket. The admission ticket must be shown at all times upon request to the employees of the Volksoper and the audience service.
f) Persons who are clearly drunk or under the influence of addictive substances as well as persons who could unreasonably impair operations or a performance due to their conduct or other circumstances (e.g. strong body odour) may be refused entry despite having a valid admission ticket. Furthermore, persons not appropriately dressed for the occasion may be refused entry despite having a valid admission ticket.
g) Outer garments, umbrellas and walking sticks, as well as rucksacks, large bags and similar items which, due to their nature and size, could obstruct escape routes, must be deposited in the relevant cloakrooms for the seating areas in question and may only be reclaimed prior to leaving the theatre. Staff shall not be under any obligation to hold in safekeeping any items not on the above list. Walking sticks may only be taken into the auditorium by such frail persons as shall require the same as an essential support. Hats must be removed in the auditorium. Audience service staff shall be prohibited from bringing outer garments into the auditorium for visitors either during or at the end of a performance.
The items situated within articles handed into the cloakroom, plus cash and valuables, as well as consequential losses, shall not be insured. Any complaints or the assertion of any claims with regard to articles held in safekeeping must be made immediately upon return of the articles held in safekeeping.
h) All mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.) must be switched off during performances, placed in flight mode or placed on silent. Any use of mobile phones or other mobile electronic devices (computers, tablets, video and photo cameras, games consoles, etc.) which may disturb visitors or performers due to noise, light, flash, or similar, shall be prohibited during performances.
i) Outside parties and all employees not required to use such equipment as part of their occupational activity at the Volksoper shall be prohibited from using any equipment capable of disrupting in-house technical facilities (e.g. wireless microphones, Wi-Fi, etc.).
j) As a general rule, visitors arriving late may no longer be admitted following the commencement of a performance. Admission shall only be possible at the next break in the performance, such as in the case of an interval or sustained applause. In so far as it is possible to ensure that admission shall not cause any disruption, excluded shall be the areas of the standing places and all box seats in the second row. Entering into the auditorium without permission shall constitute a breach of the House Rules, which may entail removal from the Volksoper, and, in more serious instances, a ban on entering the premises.
k) Disruptive conduct during a rehearsal or event shall be prohibited.
l) Any notices or complaints as regards defects or damage noted to the building must be notified to the audience service.
m) The bodies in charge of public safety and security, the audience service and monitoring service shall be entitled to conduct checks on persons and searches of bags, suitcases and similar.
n) If medical assistance is required, the house staff or the audience service must be notified.
o) Lost property must be handed in to the audience service, who must also secure unattended items. Lost property shall be held in safekeeping by the audience service until the end of an event. Identity documentation, keys, cash, credit cards and similar shall be handed immediately to the Municipal District Office for the City of Vienna (Magistratisches Bezirksamt der Stadt Wien).
p) Following the end of an event, the theatre must be vacated swiftly and in an orderly fashion.
V. Photography and audiovisual recordings
a) Taking photographs during an event shall be prohibited without exception. The production of audio, video and/or audiovisual recordings shall only be permitted with the consent of the Volksoper. The setting up of spot lamps on stands and cameras shall only be permitted in the approved locations with relevant official consent. Such approval must be obtained prior to commencement of the security inspection tour for the event in question. In the event of the unauthorized generation of photographic or audiovisual recordings, these must be surrendered or immediately deleted.
b) In the event of image or audio recordings or photographic recordings (television, radio, print media, etc.), the visitor declares himself/herself to be in agreement to the effect that the recordings made by him/her during or in conjunction with the event and all such recordings made by him/her in the Volksoper may be used within the framework of usual exploitation without remuneration as well as in an unlimited number, for an indefinite period and worldwide by way of any technical procedure either currently known or to be developed in future.
VI. Consequences of failure to comply with House Rules
a) Failure to comply with the House Rules may entail exclusion from attendance at an event and removal from the Volksoper, a general ban on admission to the premises, as well as, in particular in the case of unauthorized image and/or audio recordings of performances, civil claims and judicial assertion of confiscation measures in respect of the image and/or audio material.
b) In no such instance shall the purchase price of a ticket or other expenses be reimbursed (even in part).
c) Persons subject to a general ban on admission shall be removed from the Volksoper.
d) Failure to comply with the terms of the approved House Rules shall be subject to the criminal sanctions contained in the current valid version of the Vienna Events Act (Wiener Veranstaltungsgesetz).
Vienna, October 2017