Travel tips for opera lovers – Vienna and Gaetano Donizetti

Donizetti was in Vienna several times from the 1830s, sometimes even holding official positions; his school friend Merelli was by now director of the Kärtnertor Theater. Vienna adored the Italian, and Richard Wagner enviously called Vienna “Donizetti City.” In 1842/43, Emperor Ferdinand appointed him “K.k. Kammerkapellmeister und Hofkompositeur” and Donizetti took care of the Italian program at the Kärtnertor Theater for two seasons, including staging the first Viennese Nabucco, at whose premiere in Milan he was present and deeply impressed.

Vienna later honored Donizetti’s work with a large bust in the State Opera House and in 2005 with a commemorative plaque at Wipplingerstrasse 5.