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Location: The Hanoi Opera House
is situated on Le Thanh Tong St., Hanoi; near the Red River and several
hundreds meters east of Hoan Kiem Lake.
Characteristics: It is an old theatre with French architecture and typical
Gothic and Mosaic characters reflected on the door domes and the glassed
room respectively.
For a long time, the Hanoi
Opera House has been a rendezvous for those who love theatrical performance
and traditional songs and music, symphonies, opera and classical opera. It
is also a tourist attraction for local and foreign visitors.
The Hanoi Opera House is renowned for its unique architecture and good
composition. It is furnished rationally and harmoniously. Since its
establishment, the Hanoi Opera House is the largest theatre in Vietnam. Its
construction started in 1901 and completed in 1911. Previously the site was
a big pond, adjacent to the city gate of Tay Long (also called Tay Luong) of
the ancient Thang Long Capital. The construction met with many difficulties,
because the foundations of the theatre were built on the pond. Before
building a concrete foundation, nearly one metre thick, the pond was emptied
and dredged, then 30,000 hard bamboo stakes were placed on its bed.
The Hanoi Opera House is of the same architectural style as the Opera House
in France. Some foreign architects said that due to being built nearly 300
years after the Paris Opera House, the Hanoi Opera House avoids superfluous
architectural details, which make it more magnificent and attractive.
After nearly 100 years of operation, the theatre's equipment and adornments
became old and run down. In 1997, the theatre was repaired and modernized
under the management of two Vietnamese French architects, Ho Thieu Tri and
Hoang Phuc Sinh. The original architecture of the 3-storey theatre has
remained. The decorative designs on the ceiling, arches, walls, and doors
were renewed. The 3-metre-high stage and the audience's hall, with 600
seats, were also modernized in conformity with international standards. The
theatre has been equipped with state-of-art facilities and appliances,
compatible for all types of artistic performances, from folk music and
songs, ballets and piano to classical opera, reformed opera, Vietnamese
operetta and drama, all made great impressions on the audience. The Hanoi
Opera House has also successfully organized many large-scale international
concerts.
The Hanoi Opera House is a worthy artistic centre and a cultural and
architectural relic of the capital Hanoi. |
