The guest bedrooms, which have stood empty during the coronavirus lockdown, were transformed into opera boxes for an evening, and the hotel courtyard into a stage to create a rare moment of joy in the city of music on Saturday.

Two opera singers and a string ensemble were invited to play at the Hotel Zeitgeist.

As they performed in the courtyard, the spectators looked on from the windows of 40 or so rooms which they had rented for the evening.

And they approved, showering applause on to the head of the tuxedoed conductor and his elegant soprano Monika Medek.

Since mid-April, Austria has lifted many of the restrictions taken to combat the spread of the new coronavirus but cultural life is still at a standstill because of the ban on gatherings of more than 100 people.

Vienna hotels, deserted by tourists and business travellers, are expecting an occupancy rate of less than 10 percent for June, according to the city’s chamber of commerce.