Orchestra
The orchestra of the Volksoper Wien, which looks back on a history and tradition of more than 100 years, is stylistically very versatile. The 98 musicians primarily shape the performances in the Volksoper Wien's repertoire, which includes the genres of opera, operetta, musical and ballet. Since January 2024, Ben Glassberg has been the orchestra's music director.
Already in its early history, the orchestra was influenced by important artistic personalities, for example, it's first music director was Alexander Zemlinsky (1904-1911). The two Viennese premieres of Tosca (1907) and Salome (1910) at the Volksoper Wien also date from this period. In its further history, the orchestra was influenced by personalities such as composer Oskar Nedbal and conductors such as Asher Fisch, Bertrant de Billy, Marc Piollet or Leopold Hager in leading positions.
The tradition of Viennese operetta is as much an artistic concern of the orchestra as the cultivation of contemporary musical languages: World premieres and first performances of works by composers such as Marius Felix Lange and Detlev Glanert have been performed with great success in recent years and will be complemented by the world premiere of a new operetta by Moritz Eggert. In recent years, the Volksoper Wien Orchestra has also performed on international stages as part of numerous tours (especially in Japan and Finland).