75th birthday - Austria / II. Republic of Austria 2010 - 100 Euro Cent

"I see my job as being to make the audience curious, to spark interest, and to show things that require a bit of effort to understand. I do not just want to go the usual way, but also familiarize the Viennese audience with an unfamiliar look and unknown sounds. "- Pointed statements by Ioan Holender, the long-serving director in the history of the Vienna State Opera, whose contract ends in June this year and the now dedicated to its own special stamp. About the person: Ioan Holender, born on 18 July 1935, comes from a Jewish family from Temesvar (Romania), where his father owned a jam and vinegar factory, which was expropriated in 1948. In order to gain access to studies, Holender initially worked for one year on the tram. In 1956 he was expelled for political reasons from all the universities of the country due to participation in the student movement. He then worked as a tennis trainer and assistant director, until he was allowed to leave because of the possibility of family reunification to Vienna, where his mother already lived. Originally Holender wanted to continue his studies in engineering, but ultimately he began to study singing in Vienna. After graduating, he worked first as an opera baritone and concert singer, before he began working in 1966 in a theater agency; a few years later he took over and made it a well-known opera agency under his own name. In 1988, Holender was appointed by the then designated Director Eberhard Waechter Secretary General of the Vienna State Opera - the beginning of a long career in "Haus am Ring" - and after Waechters unexpected death in March 1992 Holender was on April 1 of the same year the director of the State Opera ordered. Within a short time he caused numerous changes; For example, he had the titles of the operas played back in the original language and softened the ensemble principle by strengthening short-term evening contracts. The repertoire played by Holender was essentially based on the re-staging of his own management time, supplemented by well-known key works and some older productions, which made his organization of the extensive repertoire significantly easier. In addition, the bustling opera director increasingly put on co-productions, such as the Salzburg Festival, the Milan Scala and the Paris Opera. Of course, the sale of successful productions to other renowned opera houses such as the Metropolitan Opera in New York deserves special mention.