Dress Code

We went casual to the concert in Mirabell Palace Salzburg. We both wore pants (not jeans) and very casual tops. A few people were dressed up but most were dressed to the same level as us.

Maybe you could pick up one at a charity shop there, then donate it back before you leave. Take some nice khaki pants and 1 button up shirt (could be short sleeve even). Your wife could take a "little black dress" or nice sun dress- or she could pick up a dress at the charity shop, too. We were in Salzburg during August (Festival). We didn't attend any concerts, but saw people heading to them who were dressed what most would consider business smart or "nice" evening- but not formal.

There's never a dress code. Especially at the state opera, you'll see everthing from formal dress to jeans and Tshirts. In Salzburg, unless you attend one of the more professional concerts, expect to see the majority of the audience in comfortable tourist garb. Wear what you find comfortable and appropriate.

Maybe Vienna is more formal than Salzburg or Budapest. Having said that, I went to the Vienna State Opera (Wiener Staatsoper) at the end of January to see Così fan tutte. We go about every other year to the Opera ...usually go to a ball in the off years. My experience is that, while no one will insult you or kick you out, you will definitely feel more comfortable if you show up in at minimum a blazer and tie. Yes, I said it. In Vienna at least, you might see the occassional free spirit in just an open-necked shirt, but it is really not the norm, especially in the better seats. I go during the normal opera season. Maybe summer stock performances are more casual. In Vienna the Opera is normally closed in summer. I like the post that suggests going to a second hand store and picking something up, and then donating it to charity when you are done with it (there are "Carritas" clothing donation bins all over the city of Vienna.) My stateside home is in Kailua. So you are going from off-the-charts casual to a-step-more-formal. My wife accuses me of going into reverse culture shock when we go back to Hawai'i.

There are many variables such as which performance, where you sit, etc. If you sit in the least expensive seats you will often find more students and tourists who tend to be less dressed up. The performances are wonderful, as well as the concert halls, and I urge you to go no matter what you wear. We went twice. The performances we attended were mostly sold out to locals on a subscription basis and we got tickets by reserving far ahead from home (Budapest) or by purchasing tickets that were unused by the subscriber and resold. The audience was about 90% in suit and tie although some of the clothese were pretty dated.
In our case, we had no dressy clothes but really wanted to go so we put on the best we had which was a button down shirt with a black sweater over it and khaki pants. We were conspicuous, no doubt, but as Americans I'm sure we would have been even in our finest clothes. I would love to go again and I'd be happy wearing the same outfit. For me, taking a suit or a sport coat on a long trip is just too difficult.