The painting on the ceiling, “Praise and Recognition,” depicts in vibrant colors a female figure gripping a roll of music and holding a trumpet and laurel wreath. The main staircase shows off seven allegorical statues made of Carrara marble, representing arts such as music, dance, and sculpture. Consider the monumental main staircase, for instance. Twenty coats-of-arms of states and provinces in the Austro-Hungarian Empire adorn the façade, too. Another statuary represents Love as a maiden with flower petals Mourning who is in the midst of covering her face with one hand and the wild-haired Revenge, armed with a dagger, ready for battle. The water sprite Lorelei, whose beauty and song caused sailors to crash their vessels, is perched on top of a fountain on the front façade. The glassed-in loggia boasts five bronze statues, such as Heroism and Fantasy, the tallest because it is the source of all arts. Above it is a shield flanked by eagles with the Habsburg-Lorraine coat-of-arms, topped by the Austrian imperial crown.

A triumphal arch is set prominently in front of the main roof. On the exterior, a loggia façade enthralls with statues of muses on horseback. Now, 22-carat gold leaf décor adorns the building along with allegorical statuary, breathtaking tapestries, stunning ceiling paintings, and astounding wall ornamentation. It would be another 10 years before the opera house was restored. Only 70 percent of the façade, the vestibule, the staircase, the foyer, and the tea room survived the raging flames.

On March 12, 1945, five bombs almost destroyed the building that had been on fire for 24 hours. The interior, though, earned high acclaim. When the Vienna State Opera opened in 1869 with a performance of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, the exterior of the building triggered harsh criticism because it was austere rather than romantic in style.

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