The L.E.O. offers pure opera. It's about the joy of music and song, and the audience is also allowed to drink a glass of wine and hum along during the performance. The repertoire includes the most popular operas, such as Tannhäuser, Die lustigste Witwe and La Traviata. Recital evenings and cabaret are also offered, as is a different kind of annual New Year's Concert with opera and Wienerlied highlights.

There is no orchestra at the L.E.O., but instead a famous pianist plays an old grand piano. He is also the conferencier and leads the audience – also in English – through the action. This is sometimes even abridged. Why shouldn't one leave complicated subplots aside if they are musically expendable? To achieve this, the committed singers sometimes have to assume double roles.

The audience is not spared from the occasional bout of collaboration either, due to the lack of a large cast at the L.E.O. In this case, the guests are briefly trained by the conferencier as a choir – on a voluntary basis, of course. There is hardly anyone who doesn't find this communal fun exhilarating.

Unconventional opera lovers, who are curious about musical theater with a special and charming interpretation, should not miss out on paying a visit to the L.E.O. while in Vienna.