HOUSE RULES OF THE VIENNA STATE OPERA
in effect since 15 February 2015
These House Rules regulate the conditions to be observed by visitors, employees, suppliers and other persons at the State Opera as well as at all other venues, during rehearsals and facilities operated by Wiener Staatsoper GmbH (hereinafter referred to as the "State Opera"). Upon entering the State Opera or by purchasing and/or possessing an admission ticket, each person acknowledges the House Rules of the Vienna State Opera.
I. Entering the State Opera
Entering the State Opera is permitted only in the following cases:
1. when purchasing tickets during the designated times at the points of sale;
2. when attending performances with a valid ticket;
3. during visits as part of organised guided tours, whereby the instructions of the guides must be strictly obeyed;
4. in execution of official duties as part of the relevant remit (representatives of public authorities) or police in uniform after presentation of their official badges.
5. Except as stipulated in paragraphs 1 to 4, in principle only persons with a valid chip card (season ticket or temporary visitors ticket) are permitted to enter the State Opera.
6. Access to the stage, including its adjoining rooms and depots, as well as to the artists' dressing rooms is only permitted for persons employed in these areas. Persons are only permitted on stage as long as their presence on stage is required. Access to these premises by persons not belonging to the company is only permitted when they are accompanied by a responsible employee of the State Opera.
7. Persons who have been banned from the premises of the State Opera are not permitted to enter the State Opera. Likewise, persons, who are obviously drunk or otherwise under the influence of addictive substances, as well as persons, who by their behaviour or due to other circumstances might unreasonably impair the operation or the event may be denied access to the State Opera despite holding a valid admission ticket or chip card, or may be expelled from the State Opera.
II. General provisions
1. The initiation of sales negotiations as well as the offering and sale of tickets in the area, but in particular on the premises of the State Opera by persons other than those authorised by the State Opera (private or commercial ticket sellers) is prohibited.
2. The use of tickets for competitions, lotteries, raffles, etc. is not permitted without the prior express written consent of Wiener Staatsoper GmbH.
3. It is prohibited to bring objects that may pose a danger to persons or property to the State Opera.
4. Except for guide dogs for the blind or service dogs (with an ID), it is not permitted to bring animals to the State Opera. Guide dogs for the blind must wear a proper harness for guide dogs, and assistance dogs must wear a leash and a muzzle. The audience service will inform the facility management team and the public monitoring bodies of any person entering the State Opera with a guide dog or an assistance dog.
5. The regular cleaning of the State Opera always takes place at least two hours before the start of an event.
6. During events, all roads, paths, entrances and exits including emergency exits of the State Opera must be kept free of stored goods and obstacles and must remain passable without hazard. All entrance and exit doors must be kept unlocked from the time when visitors are permitted to enter until immediately after the last visitors have left.
7. Any instructions issued by public monitoring bodies, the in-house firefighting service, the audience service, the facility management team, or by employees of the State Opera in the course of their duties must be strictly obeyed.
8. Smoking and lighting tobacco products and the like (including e-cigarettes) as well as handling an open flame is strictly prohibited unless expressly permitted in specific areas. All persons must comply with the existing smoking ban. The costs of a raising a false fire alarm must be borne in full by the person triggering the alarm.
9. Food and beverages may only be consumed in the areas provided for this purpose and may under no circumstances be taken into the auditorium. Utensils for eating and drinking, in particular bottles and glasses, may only be placed on the tables provided for this purpose.
10. The admission of children and young people to events is only permitted in accordance with the provisions of relevant child and youth protection law.
11. During rehearsals, only persons directly involved in the production and representatives of the authorities are permitted to be present in the auditorium. All other persons are strictly prohibited from entering the auditorium. This provision does not apply to public dress rehearsals or to attendance by special permission from the management.
12. Only persons who have a chip card or a canteen access card of the State Opera or government representatives may visit the canteen.
13. The State Opera assumes no liability for personal belongings, except for items deposited in the cloakrooms in accordance with paragraph 5 of Section IV.
III. Conduct in case of fire or hazard
1. Flammable liquids and flammable objects must not be stored or used in the State Opera. Exceptions are only allowed in accordance with statutory provisions or official staging permits.
2. In case of suspected fire, the audience service or the in-house firefighting service must be alerted immediately at +431-51444-2415. Any person noticing a fire or becoming aware of a fire must immediately press the fire alarm button.
3. In the event of a fire or any other threat to the safety of people or property, the State Opera must be vacated quickly and without obstructing others by way of the indicated escape routes. This does not apply to persons who have been designated to carry out rescue measures. If the exits are blocked, all persons must assemble on the balconies or terraces of the State Opera. The audience service will guide and evacuate people with impaired mobility in the balcony and gallery area and wheelchair users in the gallery area to the terrace. Any person who is trapped and cannot reach a rescue point must contact the rescue teams via the switchboard (+431-51444-9). Lifts must not be used. The instructions of the responsible employees of the State Opera and of the public security services must be obeyed immediately. The head of operations of the fire brigade, the technical supervisor and the legal officer of the police will have the power of command regarding all measures to be taken. After evacuation, all persons must assemble in the covered area of Mahlerstrasse, where all further measures will be organised by the responsible employees of the State Opera and the rescue service will set up a first aid service.
IV. Conduct related to events
1. Visitors are permitted to enter the State Opera only after approval by the supervisory bodies. At this time, the rooms must be sufficiently lit, and the emergency lighting must be switched on. The lighting, including emergency and additional lighting, may be switched off only once the spectators and employees have left the State Opera.
2. Only persons with a valid admission ticket may enter the auditorium and adjoining rooms intended for the public. The ticket must be presented to the employees of the State Opera and the audience service without prompting.
3. Persons who are not dressed according to the occasion may be denied access by the audience service or the facility management team, even if such persons are in possession of a valid admission ticket.
4. It is not permitted to take overcoats (unless they are worn during the entire event), prams, backpacks, bags, suitcases, larger pieces of luggage, bulky objects, musical instruments as well as umbrellas, sticks (with the exception of walking aids), cameras, devices for image and/or sound recordings and the like into the auditorium. They must be handed in at the cloakrooms provided for the relevant seat group and may only be collected after the end of the event or before leaving the State Opera. It is prohibited to take the above items into the auditorium.
5. The cloakrooms must be constantly staffed while visitors are present. Items accepted by cloakroom staff for proper safekeeping from a designated seat group and cloakroom items stored in the boxes are insured as part of the company’s cloakroom insurance. When an item is accepted for safekeeping in the cloakroom, cloakroom tickets will be issued per person corresponding to the total number of items taken into custody by the cloakroom. Cloakroom tickets are not transferable. The insurance cover begins when the items are handed over to the responsible cloakroom staff and ends upon the return of the items to the depositor. Cloakroom items are all items that are customarily stored for safekeeping in cloakrooms, such as clothing, umbrellas, bags and suitcases, other luggage, musical instruments and the like as well as photo, film and video equipment. Any property inside cloakroom items, including money and valuables, as well as any consequential damage or losses are not covered by the insurance. Complaints and any claims regarding stored items must be notified immediately upon return of the stored items. The head of the Cloakroom service must make the General Terms and Conditions of Insurance for Cloakroom Insurance available for inspection.
6. The public security services, the audience service and the facility management team may carry out personal checks and searches of bags, suitcases and the like.
7. Visitors may take seats only as legitimised by an admission ticket or as indicated by the audience service and/or by employees of the State Opera. Standing room is only provided in the specially designated areas. Any unauthorised change of seating is prohibited, and in the event of a change to a (better) seat, the difference to the price of the standing room or seat ticket may be charged, or the visitor may be expelled from this seat or even from the event if the visitor refuses to vacate the seat.
8. Wheelchair users (and their companions, if applicable) can only participate in an event to the extent that places approved for such use are available; they will be informed about the escape route to the designated exits before the start of the event. The wheelchair-accessible lift will be available during the event and may only be used when a lift operator is present. Barrier-free accessible toilets (parquet floor and gallery) can be unlocked with the Euro-Key.
9. As a rule, late visitors will not be admitted after the start of the performance. Out of deference to the performing artists and other visitors, late entries are permitted only during breaks. Unauthorised entry to the auditorium constitutes a violation of the House Rules, which may result in being expelled from the State Opera or, in more serious cases, in being banned from the premises of the State Opera.
10. Any disruptive behaviour in the State Opera must be avoided, in particular during an event or a rehearsal.
11. Mobile phones must be switched off or set to mute during the event. Persons not belonging to the company are prohibited from using mobile phones and other portable electronic devices (tablet computers, laptops, video cameras, Gameboys, etc.) that may disturb the performing artists and/or other visitors due to noise, (light) glow or the like during the event.
12. The monitors for the subtitling system installed in the spectator area must be handled with care. Defects do not give rise to a claim for reimbursement of the ticket price, not even partially. Visitors are requested to report any detected defects to the audience service.
13. If medical assistance is required during an event, the audience service must be informed immediately, who will then inform the physician on duty and the responsible representative of the management and the facility management team.
14. It is prohibited to remove or change furnishings of the State Opera without authorisation. Any handling or commissioning of technical equipment, such as lighting equipment and all machinery, by unauthorised persons is prohibited. Any person causing damage to equipment beyond normal wear and tear, or handling or commissioning such equipment without authorisation shall be fully liable.
15. In the event of a dispute, the audience service may act as a mediator and may rely on the support of the facility management team, the in-house firefighting service and public authorities in the event that visitors fail to obey their instructions. Complaints of visitors about the external operation of an event, perceived defects or damage must be brought to the attention of the audience service, which will then inform the facility management service accordingly.
16. Lost property must be handed over to the audience service, which must also secure unattended objects. Lost property is stored by the head of the cloakroom service until the end of the event and held in safekeeping by the in-house firefighting service for a period of six months after the end of the event. Any lost property not reclaimed within this period will be handed over to the lost property service of the Municipal District Office of the City of Vienna. ID cards, keys, money, credit cards and the like will be handed over to the Municipal District Office of the City of Vienna on the day following the find.
V. Return or refund of purchased tickets and cancellation or changes to events at the Vienna State Opera
1. Except as provided for in paragraph 2 and paragraph 5, no purchased tickets will be returned or refunded. No refund will be provided for unused tickets (e.g. if access is refused), for only partially used tickets (e.g. due to late arrival) or for any lost tickets.
2. If another work is performed instead of the work indicated on the admission ticket, any tickets already purchased (except tickets at reduced prices or subscription tickets) will be taken back by the State Opera against a refund of the regular ticket price. The option to return the ticket is available from the date of the announcement of the change until the end of the third day after the date of the event at the ticket sales points of the federal theatre agency, or on the date of the event at the box office of the State Opera. Only tickets with an intact tear-off strip will be accepted for a refund. If any reserved tickets that have already been paid for are not collected due to such a change of event, the paid amount will be refunded to an account indicated in writing by the customer.
3. A change in cast constitutes under no circumstance a reason for the return of a ticket or refund of the ticket price. Announcements of the cast are not deemed to form a contractual basis for the purchase of tickets. Changes to the cast remain expressly reserved.
4. Furthermore, the State Opera expressly reserves the right to postpone the start of the event to a different time, even at short notice. Visitors are advised to check for any changes on the day of the event, e.g. at www.wiener-staatsoper.at, tel.: +431-51444-0 or a current daily newspaper.
5. In the event of cancellation of an event, a substitute event will be offered; if this is not possible for technical reasons, the admission price shall only be refunded if less than half of the performance has taken place at the time of cancellation.
6. All other claims of customers or visitors, for whatever legal reason, are excluded in all cases mentioned in section V. in any case; in particular, expenses of customers or visitors in connection with attending the event (e.g. travel and accommodation costs) will not be reimbursed.
VI. Photography and recordings
1. Photography during the event is prohibited without exception. Photography for private purposes taken before and after the event or during breaks is permitted; all other uses require separate approval of the State Opera. The production of sound, image and/or image sound recordings of any kind before, during and after the event or during the breaks is prohibited without exception without a separate permission of the State Opera. The installation of tripod headlights and cameras is only permitted with appropriate official approval. In the event of violations, the facility management team is authorised to confiscate cameras, video cameras, tape recorders or other devices for the duration of the event. Any produced sound, image and/or image sound carriers and the like will be secured and deleted by the responsible employees of the State Opera at the expense of the filming or recording person. In addition, the visitor may be expelled from the event by the facility management team, and in the event of further violations the person may be banned from the premises of the State Opera.
2. In the case of image, sound and photo recordings (television, radio, internet, film, print media, etc.), the visitor agrees that the recordings made by him/her during or in connection with the event or all recordings made by him/her at the State Opera may be used without remuneration and without temporal, spatial and numerical restriction in any technical process currently known and developed in the future within the scope of normal use.
VII. Ensuring public safety and security
Visitors who disturb an event or harass other visitors or employees of the State Opera may be expelled from the auditorium or the State Opera by the facility management team or the audience service. If the efforts of the audience service, the facility management team and of the in-house firefighting service remain unsuccessful, they may contact the in-house firefighting service, the supervisory officer of the security forces and the attending public safety and security authorities and rely on their support to secure the proper operational processes and/or the conduct of the performance, e.g. by enforcing a ban from the premises of the State Opera. In particular, they may remove the disrupting person(s) from the State Opera.
VIII. Procedure in case of violations and consequences
of non-compliance with the House Rules
1. The instructions of employees of the State Opera and the supervisory officers on duty for the purpose of complying with the House Rules, intended to ensure security and order and the proper operational processes and/or the conduct of the event, must be obeyed. In the event of violations of these instructions, the facility management team is authorised to demand the presentation of proof of identity and, in the case of gross violations, exclude the person(s) from participating in the event and to expel them from the State Opera or to issue a ban from the premises of the State Opera. Visitors who have already disturbed previous events, harassed other visitors or have not complied with the House Rules may be refused access to the event despite holding a valid admission ticket or prevented from purchasing tickets for a certain period of time or permanently in particularly severe cases. Likewise, persons who have been banned from the premises of the State Opera must be removed from the premises of the State Opera. The purchase price of the tickets concerned will not be refunded (not even in part) in any of these cases. In particular, no expenses of the customer or visitor in connection with attending the event (e.g. travel or accommodation costs) will be refunded.
2. Non-compliance with the provisions of the approved House Rules is subject to the penal provisions of the Vienna Event Act (Wiener Veranstaltungsgesetz) and may result in the exclusion from participation in the event and expulsion from the State Opera, a ban from the premises of the State Opera, an administrative penalty, criminal prosecution, and – in the case of unauthorised image, sound and/or image sound recordings of performances – in claims under civil law and the judicial enforcement of the confiscation of the image, sound and/or video sound recording.
Approved by Municipal District Department 36 under file no. MA36-85219-2015 in accordance with section 35 of the Vienna Event Premises Act (Wiener Veranstaltungsstättengesetz).