Hanoi Opera House, Hanoi

The Hanoi opera house was built in 1911 by the French colonial rulers to resemble the old opera house in Paris. On August the 16th 1945, the Viet Minh declared that it had taken over the city from the balcony of the building.

The Hanoi opera house was built over a drained pond in 1911. Architects Harley and Broyer were the designers, and the construction was supervised by M. Travary and M. Savelon. The structure combines Greek, Beaux Arts and Gothic styles like the Palais Garnier, the old opera house in Paris. This is the largest theater in Vietnam. It consists of a large stage, a 24 x 24 meter main audience room and several balconies in the middle floor. There are 18 makeup rooms, 2 rooms for voice training, a library and a meeting room backstage. In 1997, the opera house underwent major restoration under the supervision of French Vietnamese architects, Ho Thieu Thri and Hoang Phuc Sinh. The theater was equipped with state of the art acoustic and other equipment suitable for modern audiences.

Visitors can view all types of performances at the Hanoi opera house including folk music performances, western music concerts and Vietnamese operetta and drama. Visitors are not allowed in unless they are part of the audience at a performance. The steps leading to the building are a popular place for tourists to get their photographs taken.