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Party Rolls on for Die-Hard Mozart Fans

When it comes to parties, apparently there is no such thing as a hangover for die-hard Mozart fans.

After all-night celebrations of the 250th anniversary of his birth, Mozart enthusiasts lined up in frigid temperatures on Saturday for a chance to explore the newly renovated downtown Vienna house where the composer wrote "The Marriage of Figaro," one of his most beloved operas.

Officials in the Austrian capital Ч Mozart's home for three years at the height of his brief but prolific musical career Ч have thrown the house open for free, 24 hours a day, until Sunday evening to ensure visitors from as far away as China and Mexico get the Amadeus fix they came for.

"I think that a genius who came as a foreigner from Salzburg to Vienna and had his most productive time here should be honored," said Vienna Mayor Michael Haeupl, among the dignitaries on hand for the official reopening of the six-floor house at Domgasse 5, after a $10 million renovation that took 14 months.

"We keep the house he liked most here in Vienna in good condition for the future, for the world," he said as Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, Austria's senior Roman Catholic prelate, blessed the house. It can handle only 200 visitors at a time, but several thousand streamed through overnight, the line dwindling before dawn, then growing again.

More than 1,500 free entry tickets were snapped up within an hour of the house reopening Friday afternoon, organizer Karin Stasny said.

"Pa-pa-pa pa-pa-pa! Pa-pa-pa pa-pa-pa!" many sang, invoking a favorite line from "Papageno," a signature piece from Mozart's "The Magic Flute."

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg on Jan. 27, 1756, and that elegant, cobblestoned city has served as the focus for international celebrations this year marking his birth.

In Austria, state television broadcast "24 Hours Mozart," programming, and a gala concert was held in Vienna's Burgtheater. Numerous events were held Friday from New York to Mexico City to Beijing, and many European capitals were staging concerts and exhibitions throughout the weekend.