Culture - Opera and music

See also: Top 10 sights | Opera and music | Galleries | Museums | Bratislava events

Bratislava is proudly considered as the city of opera. In the past, the giants of music like Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Rubinstein, and Hummel acted here. The present ballet and opera of the Slovak National Theatre are world-known by their classical performances and brought up the opera stars like Peter Dvorský, Lucia Popp or Edita Gruber.

The historical buildings of the opera of the Slovak National Theatre or the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra – Reduta are often used for the organization of many cultural and social events.

The Opera in Bratislava is popular amongst its visitors - for its quality as well as favourable prices. The Opera of the Slovak National Theatre is located in a Habsburg-era building right in the city centre on Hviezdoslavovo Square. Opera performances are subtitled in Slovak or Germans, so it is advisable for English-lnaguage speakers to familiarise themselves with the plot in advance. Performances usually start at 7 pm. Find the schedule at the Slovak National Theatre website.

The Slovak National Philharmonic is a body of international reputation, already in its 58th season (fall 2006). Most concerts are held at the Philharmonic's Reduta building just off the Hviezdoslavovo Square (behind Hotel Carlton).

The Philharmonic consists of these ensembles:
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Slovak Philharmonic Choir, Bohdan Warchal Slovak Chamber Orchestra and other chamber orchestras. The Slovak Philharmonic Website contains descriptions of the five ensembles, a searchable schedule of concerts and an on-line ticket reservations option.
Annually in Bratislava are held many other cultural events. Among them the best-known are  Bratislava Music Festival (BHS) in September and Bratislava Jazz Days (BJD) in October.