Margit Legler and Reinhold Kubik offer a concise list of the major public dance venues in 19th-century Vienna (91-92).
Der Sperl: correctly, "Zum Sperlbauer," after the name of the first owner of the inn (opened 1701). A public dancehall and gardens with a performing pavilion were added in 1807, and the venue quickly became a favorite local destination. It was drastically remodelled in 1839 and retained its popularity for another 30 years; it was torn down in 1873.
Zur goldenen Birne, started in 1702, was remodelled in 1801, including the addition of a large dancehall, which became known as the "Wiener Annentempel."
Apollosaal, built in 1807 and opened in time for Carneval 1808. In addition to a great dancehall, the site had smaller halls and rooms, grottos, etc., along with an orchestral performance area in the shape of a small hill. As many as 8000 visitors could be accommodated. Perhaps in part because of its size, which had the disadvantage of an unwieldly complexity, the venue suffered an unstable, shifting history, finally burning down in 1876 after being turned into a textile factory.
Dianabad opened in 1804 and was extensively remodelled in 1829-30, its special trait being a swimming area that could be converted into a dancehall for the winter (!). The leading dance orchestras played here. The building was rebuilt in 1893, and suffered severe damage in 1945.
The other venues in Legler and Kubik's list were all opened after Schubert's death: Dommayers Kasino (1833-1907), Sophienbad (1838-2002), Kettenbrückensaal (1840-1904), and Odeonsaal (1844-1848).
In the same volume, Andrea Harrandt discusses the professional activities of Johann Strauss, sr., during the Carneval season. She reproduces two page-long lists of his engagements, for 1840 and 1846, respectively (139, 142). Between 11 January and 3 March, 1840, Strauss's band had well over 40 appearances, on weekends often more than one in a day. The venues: Sperl, 36 times; Dommayer, 11 times. In 1846, between 11 January and 24 February: Sperl 35 times; Sophienbad, 7; Odeon, 6; Redoutensäle, 4. The tables, unfortunately, don't quite agree with Harrandt's text: for 1846, Strauss is said to have played for 31 balls at the Sperl, and three days a week for the afternoon "Konversation" [see more on this below] in the Volksgarten (143) -- that would make a total of 49 engagements at the Sperl alone. In any case, the number is remarkable, and certainly corroborates statements about the intense dance-oriented social activity of the Carneval season in Vienna.
[added 5-26-10: A more extensive list can be found in the work catalogue edited by Schönherr and Reinöhl (343-53). The list covers the years 1827-1849. The book is structured as an annotated chronological list, somewhat in the manner of Franz Mailer's Strauss [jr], but the annotations are generally more contextual or anecdotal than focused on the individual work at hand. Early on, they identify the "Konversation" (alternate names: soirée, Reunion, among others) as a fashionable entertainment in Viennese venues, distinguished by the performance of quite varied types of music and sometimes including magic and similar acts. The sessions finished with some dancing (15-16). Except for the dancing, these sound remarkably similar to vaudevilles at the end of the century.]
Reference.
Legler, Margit, and Reinhold Kubik. "Anmutige Verschlingungen. Tänze des Vormärz: Quellen – Notation – Ausführung." In Boisits, Barbara, and Klaus Hubmann. Tanz im Biedermeier: Ausdruck des Lebensgefühls einer Epoche, 89-131. Proceedings from the Symposium Musizierpraxis im Biedermeier: Tanzmusik im ländlichen und städtischen Bereich, Graz, Austria, 26.-27. März 2004. Series: Neue Beiträge zur Aufführungspraxis, vol. 6. Vienna : Mille Tre Verlag Robert Schächter, 2006.
Harrandt, Andrea. "'Das Leben ein Tanz.' Zu den Tanzkompositionen von Johann Strauß Vater für den Wiener Fasching." In Boisits and Hubmann, 133-149.
Schönherr, Max, and Karl Reinöhl. Johann Strauss Vater: ein Werkverzeichnis. London, Universal Edition [1954].
