Dress code for Vienna Opera House

Jacket and tie for men would be swell, but there is no real "dress code". Black Tie would only be for special events like a premier or superstar gala. Women? The good old "Little Black Dress" would work, or dress slacks and blouse.

The key is that you are comfortable knowing you aren't dressed like a slob among the Great and Good, Of course, you can always dress down to try and pass yourself off as an impoverished dilettante, but it is more likely to come off as "Tourist who didn't pack any nice clothes".

For European opera, I normally pack a sport coat and tie. I did go to the Bayreuther Festspiel a couple of years ago and about half the men wore tuxes, but only about a half. Women wore more formal stuff, Bavarian Tracht (but NOT Oktoberfest get-ups), and Japanese women wore very formal kimonos. I bought a black bow tie and said "There! Good enough". Funny that summer festivals are more formal than the regular season.

My family went to the Vienna Opera House in 2014. There were people there in every kind of outfit. We saw people in black tie and gowns and people who were very casual (jeans and a T-shirt and some very, very short minis). The plurality of people were in what I would call smart casual. For men, a sport coat and a pair of slacks should be fine though in addition to the black tie guys, I did see some guys in suits -- some with ties and others without. We even saw this guy who was channeling Miami Vice in a suit with a t-shirt. My husband wore jeans and a collared shirt (not a polo shirt) and was fine I (not he) wished he had a jacket. A nice blouse with slacks or a semi-formal dress would be a good choice for women. I wore my go-to navy blue scooped-neck dress with a sash tie and some gold earrings and necklace and did not feel over or under dressed.

There is no dress code. Wear what you like and what makes you comfortable.

Black tie for men and a long dress for women would be over-the-top for a normal performance. As said before the attire is more formal than in the US, but the rules had softened considerably over the last decades.

I would add the while very formal dressing (formal black tie and equivalent) is not frequent, Austrian and Germans like to dress well to attend events. If you go to even to relatively cheap clothing stores, you will find areas devoted to trachten and ball gowns, both considered as appropriate attire to festive occasions. Vienna is one place were you can find couples dressed very elegantly and taking the tram in high attire for going the opera - in most places a black jacket on a metro train would stick out as a sore thumb but in Vienna this is part of the entertainment.

Thank you all for this information and advice. It will be very helpful!

I have attended the opera in Prague and Budapest and saw a wide range of attire at each-- from ball gowns and jewels, black tie, suits or sports coats, dressy pants suits, casual dresses, dressy jeans and tops to hoodies. I wore dressy jeans and a nice top to one and the second time, in Budapest, I felt it more appropriate to wear a nice jersey dress and heels and I felt more comfortable that way. I was also going to see a musical and got double use from the outfit. It really depends on what you feel best wearing and your packing limitations, I think.

We went to a performance at the Vienna Opera House on the next to last night of our vacation in 2015. I wore a pair of dark jeans, my nicest top, and "full" makeup - as we say in the South. My husband wore a long sleeve shirt and slacks. I didn't feel at all out of place - although I wished I had remembered to pack a scarf. At home I would have definitely dressed up more, but not by much. There were many people dressed more casually than we were.

Don't worry about it - people are there for the performance, not to check you out.

I love this question because the answer is always colored by the social beliefs of the person giving the answer. To skirt that you can go to Google and look at people in performances and draw your own conclusion.

My personal rules
When traveling I see myself as a guest in someone else’s home.
When one is a guest, one maintains the highest standards to show respect to the host.
When in doubt kick it up a notch out of respect.

I go to the Budapest opera at least once a year. And, yes, I know, Budapest has twice the cultural elevation than Vienna, but still, it should provide some relevance. One of the things I enjoy most about the Opera in Budapest is the older couples. The men pull out their best brown suites from 1968 and the hats with the feather in the band, and the women their best furs and stunning dress; of about the same vintage as the gentleman’s suit. This is their big night out. I’m not going to screw it up for them bey showing up in jeans and ZZ Top t-shirt.

Because of this question, the last two times I was at the Hungarian State Opera House I did a rough count. Both times, out of nearly 1300 participants at the venue I could see a little more than half from our box, so maybe 700. Of the 700 in both occasions I spotted:

Less than 30 gentlemen who were not wearing a sports coat or suit (something less than 5% of all there).

Of the 30 less than 20 (2.8%) were without a tie (in other words there were a few gentlemen with no jacket, but did wear a tie).

I would bet money that the vast majority of the 20 with neither jacket or tie were all tourists.

As for a woman’s dress? I wouldn’t dare touch that subject.

Zubin Mehta, the old opera conductor from India, once said a thing to me. Being an old high class Indian, he has some old British manners that now you can no more find even in Britain. He said: "A jacket and a tie are not so heavy in your luggage. How could you leave for a foreign land without bringing a jacket and a tie with you? You never know who you are going to meet."

I've got a wrinkle free navy balzer and a pair of wrinkle free grey slacks that are perfect for the flight so i dont have to pack them. The slacks from one of those travel companies have hidden pockets and the blazer from Orvis has the perfect pockets for passport, tickets, etc.....

Of course if you sit in the balcony with all the tour groups, maybe its overkill. But that's not my style...

Budapest has twice the cultural elevation than Vienna

The competition between Vienna and Budapest dates back to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Which city you rate higher depends on your personal preference. For me it is the other way round.

Hopefully most read that as playful sarcasm.

I really like James' comment about maintaining high standards to respect the host when one is a guest. I wear a blazer and a tie to any high culture event I attend in Europe, from the Berlin Philharmonic to Salzburg Festival to (yes) the Vienna Opera. I even did it at a Vienna Boys Choir concert held in a church in tiny St Georgen im Attergau (near Salzburg), though I clearly stood out from the locals who were wearing their best Lederhosen! My female travel companion goes with... the little black dress mentioned by Sam.

I attended a ballet at the Vienna Opera House in Sept. 2015. Beautiful and special evening! I wore black pants with a black nice sweater, red shell top and a colorful scarf. Everything I brought were items I wore throughout the trip with other items. People were definitely dressed up. My husband wore a lightweight wool sweater and nice pants.

Dave,

Found a typical evening at the Opera in Budapest: http://static.origos.hu/s/img/i/1602/20160206magyar-allami-operahaz-shakespeare-estely46.jpg

My impression is that society in Hungary is more conservative than Austria. You see that in politics and in behavior and in some cultural norms. Its one of the things i enjoy; its more relative to my generation. Also, I have noticed I get better tables and better service when i dress well. In the summer we manage to pull it off with carry on luggage. In the winter its a bit more difficult. Then there was the year we had to carry a tux & topcoat; and a gown & mink coat. That required a rather large case.

James--this picture shows exactly why I felt better about attending a Hungarian opera (or anywhere else, really) wearing a nice dress and heels--it just seemed more respectful of their standards and I don't like going to such an occasion and not looking classy.

But Vienna gets Kardashians for their Opera ball, James - http://www.gotceleb.com/kim-kardashian-vienna-opera-ball-in-austria-2014-03-01.html

Christa, as Emily correctly pointed out, that photo was the Hungarian State Opera Ball. Actually, that year it was re-titled as a Gala as they didn't move the seats out for a dance floor. I'm not going to lose any sleep over missing the Kardashians, although i like the old man’s recent demonstration of integrity a lot. We had Placido Domingo (got to meet him) and the Hungarian PM and family. I like that photo because I am in it. :-) I’m the guy in the tux. This is the sort of thing we look for; one-off events and holidays. The following year it was 25th Anniversary Celebrations in Kyiv.

Speaking of celebrations, October 23 is day of remembrance of the Hungarian revolution of ’56. A good time to be in Budapest.

Christa, they dress like that for maybe two events a year. The rest of the time the norm is business suit or sports coat; almost always a tie. The exceptions are almost always tourists, who for the most part go for discount tickets and end up in the balcony.

Did anyone point out to Kim K that she was wearing an Iron Cross on her torso? Not that she'd know the significance of that.

I think James said it well. My husband always carries a blazer and I generally wear a basic black base and then can throw a nice jacket and scarf on top. We felt appropriate at the Vienna Opera so attired. Black tie would be overkill for anything but opening night or a special event, but dressing up a bit is appropriate.

Wow, so many great responses. I definitely appreciate the input.

James, I very much agree with you regarding attending an event in a host country. When attending an event I want to understand how the people of this city/country would attend and dress according. Plus dressing up for a night is fun to do.