Opera House

The Národní Divadlo or the National Theatre in Prague is known as the Alma Mater of Czech Opera, and as the national monument of Czech history and art. The National Theatre belongs to the most important Czech cultural institutions with a rich artistic tradition which was created and maintained by the most distinguished personalities in Czech society. This tradition helped to preserve and develop the most important features of the nation – the Czech language and a sense for a Czech musical and...

Largo di Torre Argentina is a square in Rome that hosts four Republican Roman temples, and the remains of Pompey's Theater. It is located in the ancient Campus Martius. The name of the square comes from the Torre Argentina, which takes its name from the city of Strasbourg, whose original name was Argentoratum. In 1503, in fact, the Papal Master of Ceremonies Johannes Burckardt from Strasbourg built in via del Sudario a palace (now at number 44), called Casa del Burcardo, to which the tower is...

The Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica (The National Theatre of Costa Rica) is located in the central section of San José. Construction began on the theatre in 1891, and it opened to the public on October 21, 1897 with a performance of Faust. The theatre is a tourist attraction as well as having performances several times a week. The front of the theatre features statues of Calderón de la Barca and Ludwig van Beethoven. The inside of the theatre features the ceiling mural Allegory of Coffee and...

The Bayerische Staatsoper (Bavarian State Opera) is an opera company based in Munich, Germany in existence since 1653. Its orchestra is the Bavarian State Orchestra. While opera performances are held in the Prinzregententheater completed in 1901, the Company's home base is the Nationaltheater Muenchen on Max-Joseph-Platz. Sir Peter Jonas became the Staatsoper Staatsintendant (General Director) in 1993, the first British Intendant of any major German speaking Opera House. Since 1998 Zubin...

The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera company in the principality of Monaco. With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Prince Charles III, along with the Societe des Bains de Mers, decided on the construction of an opera house on a high spot overlooking the Mediterranean. Initially, it was Charles III’s private theatre with the main entrance reserved for the Royal family and a private staircase taking them to their richly-adorned private box. This was to be the...

The Opern- und Schauspielhaus Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera House) is an important European opera house, the home of Oper Frankfurt (the Frankfurt Opera), a leading company in Germany. In 2005/2006 it had twelve premieres, a number that no opera house in Europe has equalled. In 1997 and 2003 the house received the title "Opera house of the year". Many famous singers started their career with the company (e. g. Franz Völker, Edda Moser, Cheryl Studer and Diana Damrau) and it attracts established...

The Amazon Theatre (Teatro Amazonas) is an opera house located in the heart of Manaus, inside the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil. It is the location of the annual Festival Amazonas de Ópera (Amazonas Opera Festival) held in April. It was built during the Belle Époque at a time when fortunes were made in the rubber boom. Construction of the Amazon Theater was first proposed in 1881 by a member of the House of Representatives, Antonio Jose Fernandes Júnior, the idea being to construct a jewel in...

The Teatro alla Scala (or La Scala, as it is known), in Milan, Italy, is one of the world's most famous opera house. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778, under the name Nuovo Regio Ducal Teatro alla Scala with Salieri's Europa riconosciuta. La Scala's season traditionally opens on 7 December, Saint Ambrose's Day, Milan's patron saint. All performances must end before midnight; long operas start earlier in the evening if need be. Ticketholders are not allowed to enter after the...

The Gran Teatre del Liceu , or simply Liceu in Catalan), is an opera house on La Rambla in Barcelona. The Liceu opened on April 4, 1847. It is one of the world's finest and biggest stage and acoustic settings for opera, and one of the most important opera houses in Spain. In contrast with other European cities, where the monarchy took on the responsibility for the building and upkeep of opera houses, the Liceu was built with private shareholders, organized in a similar way to a trading...

Teatro Comunale di Bologna is an opera house in Bologna and is one of the most important opera venues in Italy. Typically, it presents eight operas with six performances during its November to April season. While there had been various theatres presenting opera in Bologna since the early Seventeenth Century, they had either fallen into disuse or burnt down. However, from the early Eighteenth Century, the Teatro Marsigli-Rossi had been presenting operatic works by popular composers of the day...

The Teatro Caio Melisso is an opera house located in Spoleto, Italy and it serves as the main venue for opera performances during the annual summer Festival dei Due Mondi. The theatre has undergone several transformations and name chages since the late Seventeenth Century. The Teatro di Piazza del Duomo, also known as the Teatro della Rosa, built around 1667 was modernized in 1749 and re-opened in 1749 as the Nuovo Teatro di Spoleto. After an 1817 restoration and after Rossini had visited the...

Nationaltheater München (National Theatre Munich) on Max-Joseph-Platz is an opera house and the home base of the Bayerische Staatsoper (Bavarian State Opera), and the Bayerisches Staatsballett (Bavarian State Ballet). The Bavarian State Opera also performs in the Prinzregententheater, built in the early years of the 20th Century and which is not unlike the Bayreuth Festspielhaus built to Richard Wagner’s specifications, and the Cuvilliés Theatre, built in the 1750s and described by Beauvert as...

The Teatro Colón (Spanish) (Colón Theatre) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is one of the world's major opera houses. The present theatre, the second with that name, opened in 1908 after twenty years under construction. The auditorium is horseshoe-shaped, has 2,487 seats (slightly more than, say, the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England), standing room for 1,000 and a stage which is 20 m wide, 15 m high and 20 m deep. The acoustics are excellent. The theatre closed for refurbishment...

The Albert Lea Art Center is located in Albert Lea, Minnesota. The Albert Lea Art Center, Bessessen Historic Opera House Building, was built in 1916, by Van Kirk and Cederburg, St. Paul architects. It was built to showcase the talents of internationally acclaimed opera prima donna Beatrice Bessessen. It has since been adapted for usage as a motion picture theatre, a mini-mall, and most recently as the Albert Lea Art Center. The façade is French Renaissance. The upper interiors possess both Arts...

The Teatro dell'Opera di Roma (Rome Opera House) is an opera house in Rome, Italy. Originally opened in November 1880 as the 2,212 seat Constanzi Theatre, it has undergone several changes of name as well modifications and improvements. The present house seats 1,600. The Teatro dell'Opera was originally known as the Teatro Costanzi after the contractor who built it, Domenico Costanzi (1810-1898). It was privately financed by Constanzi who commissioned the Milanese architect Achille Sfondrini ...