Zürich Opera House
The first electrically lit opera house in Europe — built in 16 months, nearly razed by street riots, and winner of Opera Company of the Year at the 2014 International Opera Awards.
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Opened in 1891 on Sechseläutenplatz, this house designed by Viennese firm Fellner & Helmer was the first opera house in Europe to run on electric light. Its 1980s restoration was preceded by the Opernhauskrawalle (opera house riots). The rebuilt theatre reopened with Wagner's Die Meistersinger and the world premiere of Rudolf Kelterborn's Chekhov opera Der Kirschgarten. It took "Opera Company of the Year" at the 2014 International Opera Awards.
What to look for
- The neo-classical façade in white and grey stone, with carved busts of Weber, Wagner, and Mozart
- Additional busts of Schiller, Shakespeare, and Goethe
- The neo-rococo auditorium, which seats roughly 1,100
Check the program before you go — alongside opera and Ballett Zürich, the house runs Philharmonia concerts, Lieder evenings, and children's events.
Zürich Opera House is one of 17 sights worth the detour in Zurich, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Zurich pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Zurich
- LetzigrundOn this track, on 21 June 1960, Armin Hary became the first person in history to run 100 metres in 10.0 seconds.
- Zürich HauptbahnhofSwitzerland's largest station runs 2,915 trains a day — and a river flows through it in a tunnel, with tracks both above and below.
- GrossmünsterThe church where Zwingli launched the Swiss-German Reformation in 1520 — and then his followers stripped out the organ and every statue to prove the point.
- Cabaret VoltaireHugo Ball borrowed a back room on Spiegelgasse in February 1916 and accidentally invented Dada — Lenin was renting a flat fourteen doors up the same street.
- Kunsthaus ZürichTwo buildings on opposite sides of Heimplatz, linked underground, housing one of Switzerland's most important art collections — the 2021 David Chipperfield sandstone block alone added over 80% more floor space.
- Swiss National Museum (Landesmuseum)A French Renaissance chateau with dozens of towers sits on a river peninsula two minutes from the main train station — and it covers all of Swiss history from the Stone Age forward.