Federal Theater: “The visitor crisis does not exist”

“We’re probably not quite there yet, but we’re not far from it”says Christian Kircher, Managing Director of Bundestheater-Holding, and emphasizes: “The visitor crisis does not exist!”

While the State Opera has a seasonal occupancy rate of 97.7 percent and the Volksoper at 75.4, the Burgtheater is at 63.8 and thus well below the pre-Corona figures. In 2021/22, the State Opera’s self-funding rate was 30 percent, followed by the Burgtheater (20 percent) and Volksoper (14 percent) – each under the last pre-Corona season.

187 million euros basic compensation

The federal theater basic compensation increased by 13 million to 187 million euros came – “much to the displeasure of the Burgtheater” – almost exclusively for the benefit of the opera houses. There are still reserves: 20.9 million euros in the Burgtheater, 16.6 million (State Opera) and 14.2 million (Volksoper) – which is between 13 and 31 percent of the respective annual budget.

The total energy consumption was reduced by 22 percent from 2014 to 2021, but in the 2021/22 financial year 860,000 euros more had to be spent on energy due to the increased prices.

One is in the process of implementing the work packages received from the ministry in the Teichtmeister case (documentation/information requirements, training, compliance code). The commercial management of the Burgtheater, which is to be filled from January 2024, will be advertised in the spring.