Hanoi Opera House is not only a rendezvous for those who love theatrical performance and traditional songs and music, symphonies, opera and classical opera; but also a tourist attraction for local and foreign visitors.

History of Hanoi Opera House

Hanoi Opera House is a great construction built by the French Colonialist Government during the early years of the 20th century. The work, the peak of which is 34 meters above the ground, was carried out in a total area of 2600 square meters with the 87-meter length and 30-meter width. The designers consulted Corankta Greek ancient architecture in combination with Tuylory Castle and Opera de Paris to form a unique architecture for Hanoi Opera House.

Hanoi Opera House was a historical evidence of Vietnamese social and cultural development under French rule. Moreover, it is also a vestige for an architectural development stage dating back to the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries in Vietnam. The theatre has witnessed many significant historical events associated to the August Revolution and the early years of Vietnam Democratic Republic.

Striking characteristics

Hanoi Opera House is renowned for its unique architecture and good composition. It is furnished rationally and harmoniously. Thanks to its establishment, Hanoi Opera House is the largest theatre in Vietnam.

Previously the site was a big pond, adjacent to the city gate of Tay Long (also called Tay Luong) of the ancient Thang Long citadel. 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.

Hanoi Opera House has 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, Hanoi Opera House avoids superfluous architectural details, which make it more magnificent and attractive. Inside the opera house are a large stage and a main audience room with a size of 24x24m, with many small rooms for audience on the central floor. The middle staircase leads to a large Hall on the second floor. The sub-staircase and corridors are located in both sides.

At the back of the Opera House is a management chamber consisting of 18 make-up rooms, 2 rooms for voice training, 1 library and 1 meeting room. Facing the stairs is a magnificent mirror room on the second floor. Opera house has been so far a typical, large-scaled art showing place, wherein party state meetings and international conferences are held. It is considered a cultural work with the best value in Vietnam, a unique architectural work with great historical, cultural, architectural and fine-art value, a unique works in urban area as well as in the capital city. 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. Hanoi Opera House has also successfully organized many large-scale international concerts.

Being an ancient architecture work, the Opera House is now becoming a national art work of international renown, which contributes to our country's modern cultural field, also serves as a foundation in cultural exchanging, in our present social economic development and the national cultural innovation in particular.

Hanoi Opera House is a worthy artistic center, a cultural and architectural relic of Hanoi capital. This is truly a beautiful building in Hanoi and the best place to see the Opera House is from the 6th floor of the Hanoi Hilton.