Looking at the building from the Opernring, in other words from the front, the historical part from the original 1869 building is visible. The fade remains in Renaissance arched style and the loggia on the Ringstrasse side underline the public character of the building.
Vienna, State, Opera & tickets
Ernst Julius Honel
The two representations of riders over the main fade of the loggia were erected in 1876. They were created by Ernst Julius Honel and represent two flying horses, illustrating Harmony and the muse of poetry (Erato).
Also by Hnel are the five bronze statues (from left to right: Heroism, the Songstress, Fantasy, Thalia and Love) which stand on pedestals inside the arched loggia arcade.
Moritz von Schwind
In the loggia one can see the painted Magic Flute cycle by Moritz von Schwind. In order to protect the painter's precious work from the harmful effects of the weather, a protective glass covering is installed and remains from November until April.
Fountains
Right and left of the house two old fountains by Josef Gasser can be seen. They represent opposing worlds. Left: Music, Dance, Joy, and Lightheartedness, Right: Loreley, Grief, Love, and Revenge.
The Building
The back part of the two part building is clearly wider and houses the stage and the accompanying facilities while the narrower front part houses the auditorium and the publicly accessible rooms. Worth noting are the differing roof shapes: the vaulted roof all around over the higher central parts of the building covering the auditorium and the stage, the Walm roof on the lateral wings, the Saddle roof on the two-storey links between the lateral wings and the French roof on the corner turrets.
The vertical wing sections were originally used as carriage ramps. On the transverse front sides the crest of the Austrian-Hungarian empire can be seen.
