Graz Opera Graz Opera Graz Opera (German: Oper Graz) is an Austria opera house and opera company based in Graz. The orchestra of the opera house also performs concerts as the Graz Philharmonic Orchestra ("Grazer Philharmonisches Orchester"). Opera had been performed in Graz since the 17th century, originally in a converted coach house on the Habsburg royal estates. The National Theatre (Schauspielhaus Graz), constructed in 1776, saw many early performances of Mozart's operas, although today (after many reconstructions) it is devoted to the performances of plays. The city's first dedicated opera house and the immediate predecessor of the Graz Opera was the
Schlossbergbahn (Graz) a design modeled on the San Salvatore funicular in Lugano, Switzerland. At around the same time, the line was transferred from private ownership to the ownership of the city of Graz. In 1960/1961, the line was modernised and both stations were completely rebuilt. The cars were replaced, with the original cars going to the Graz Tramway Museum and the Vienna Technical Museum. In 2000, the Schlossberg lift was constructed to provide an alternative route between city and summit in time for the city's spell as Cultural Capital of Europe in 2003. In 2004, the Schlossbergbahn was again modernised, with both