Gustav Mahler

A composer as opera director

Composer Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) is Director of the Wiener Staatsoper for 10 years from 1897-1907. He decisively shapes Viennese opera culture. For him, every single performance is a “Gesamtkunstwerk”, a synthesis of music, drama, scenery and lighting, beginning with the overture and not ending until the final chord.

He has the auditorium darkened during the performance. Anyone arriving late must wait until the interval to be admitted. Things that go without saying today take some getting used to for the operagoers of the time. Until Mahler’s reforms, constant coming and going as well as eating, drinking and talking are usual during an opera performance.