The suburb Vienna Staatsoper dates from the second half of the 19th century after the demolition of the inner city defence fortifications in 1857 and the subsequent construction of the Ringstrasse and many adjacent magnificent buildings. Mozart's last opera, the Magic Flute, was performed in the Theatre auf der Wieden (or Freihaus, so named because of tax exemptions) outside the City as distinct from the two Inner City theatres usually associated with his operas. Emanuel Schikaneder, who Mozart first met in Salzburg in 1780, was director and player as well as being recorded as the librettist. After several years of success Schikaneder's fortunes went into decline and he became insane in 1812 while on a journey to Budapest. The claim by Karl Ludwig Giesecke, (formerly Metzler and who was a member of the cast in the first production of the Magic Flute), while on a visit to Vienna in 1818 and by which time was a professor in mineralogy at Dublin University in Ireland, that he had contributed significantly to the libretto of the Magic Flute should not be dismissed lightly.
