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Hanoi Opera House
The Hanoi Opera House (French: Opéra de Hanoï), or the Grand Opera House (Vietnamese: Nhà hát lớn Hà Nội, French: Grand Opéra) is an opera house in central Hanoi, Vietnam. It is located at August Revolution Square, anchoring the head of Tràng Tiền street.
Originally built by the French colonial administration as the Hanoi Municipal Theater (French: Théâtre municipal de Hanoï) between 1901 and 1911, it is one of three opera houses built during the colonial period in French Indochina, alongside the Haiphong Opera House and Saigon Opera House.
The Opera House was modeled on the Palais Garnier, the older of Paris's two opera houses, but with a smaller scale and using materials that are more suitable to the local environment. It is one of Hanoi's most prominent architectural landmarks. The main architectural style of the Opera House is Neoclassicism, with French Renaissance elements. The theater took a decade of construction to complete, from 1901 to 1911.
A source of great municipal pride, the theater became the heart of French cultural life in Hanoi. The colonial government subsidized a company to sing each winter for local French residents, at the cost of the native taxpayer. However, the 870-seat theater stood mostly empty for the rest of the year, with only the occasional military band or touring soloist making brief appearances.
On 19 August 1945, a mass rally attended by hundreds of thousands took place at Theater Square in front of the Opera House, sparking the August Revolution which brought an end to the Japanese occupation. In September 1945, Viet Minh leaders proclaimed the independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam from the Opera House balcony. The building also bear witness to street fighting during the subsequent Battle of Hanoi, as French forces recapture the city in December 1946. The first National Assembly of Vietnam was held in the Opera House on 2 March 1946, as well as subsequent sessions until the construction of Ba Đình Hall in 1963.
By the end of the 20th century, the Opera House had fallen into serious disrepair after more than 80 years of operation. The base of the theater walls was covered with moss, and many of the original roof tiles have been haphazardly replaced with corrugated iron. The interior decorations, service amenities and technical equipment have all became severely outdated; many decorative patterns were painted over with lime during previous repairs. New construction around August Revolution Square disrupted the architectural surroundings of the theater.
In the mid-1990s, in preparation for the 7th Francophone Summit held in Hanoi in November 1997, the Vietnamese government embarked on a comprehensive renovation of the Opera House, with a budget of 156 billion dong (14 million USD). The project began in 1995 and was completed two years later, with the participation of 100 workers under the supervision of French-Vietnamese architect Ho Thieu Tri, author of the restoration plan.
The Hanoi Opera House provides the names for the neighboring Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel which opened in 1999, as well as for the MGallery Hotel de l'Opera Hanoi, which opened in 2011. For historical reasons associated with the Vietnam War, the Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel was not named the Hanoi Hilton.
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Hanoi Opera House
The Hanoi Opera House (French: Opéra de Hanoï), or the Grand Opera House (Vietnamese: Nhà hát lớn Hà Nội, French: Grand Opéra) is an opera house in central Hanoi, Vietnam. It is located at August Revolution Square, anchoring the head of Tràng Tiền street.
Originally built by the French colonial administration as the Hanoi Municipal Theater (French: Théâtre municipal de Hanoï) between 1901 and 1911, it is one of three opera houses built during the colonial period in French Indochina, alongside the Haiphong Opera House and Saigon Opera House.
The Opera House was modeled on the Palais Garnier, the older of Paris's two opera houses, but with a smaller scale and using materials that are more suitable to the local environment. It is one of Hanoi's most prominent architectural landmarks. The main architectural style of the Opera House is Neoclassicism, with French Renaissance elements. The theater took a decade of construction to complete, from 1901 to 1911.
A source of great municipal pride, the theater became the heart of French cultural life in Hanoi. The colonial government subsidized a company to sing each winter for local French residents, at the cost of the native taxpayer. However, the 870-seat theater stood mostly empty for the rest of the year, with only the occasional military band or touring soloist making brief appearances.
On 19 August 1945, a mass rally attended by hundreds of thousands took place at Theater Square in front of the Opera House, sparking the August Revolution which brought an end to the Japanese occupation. In September 1945, Viet Minh leaders proclaimed the independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam from the Opera House balcony. The building also bear witness to street fighting during the subsequent Battle of Hanoi, as French forces recapture the city in December 1946. The first National Assembly of Vietnam was held in the Opera House on 2 March 1946, as well as subsequent sessions until the construction of Ba Đình Hall in 1963.
By the end of the 20th century, the Opera House had fallen into serious disrepair after more than 80 years of operation. The base of the theater walls was covered with moss, and many of the original roof tiles have been haphazardly replaced with corrugated iron. The interior decorations, service amenities and technical equipment have all became severely outdated; many decorative patterns were painted over with lime during previous repairs. New construction around August Revolution Square disrupted the architectural surroundings of the theater.
In the mid-1990s, in preparation for the 7th Francophone Summit held in Hanoi in November 1997, the Vietnamese government embarked on a comprehensive renovation of the Opera House, with a budget of 156 billion dong (14 million USD). The project began in 1995 and was completed two years later, with the participation of 100 workers under the supervision of French-Vietnamese architect Ho Thieu Tri, author of the restoration plan.
The Hanoi Opera House provides the names for the neighboring Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel which opened in 1999, as well as for the MGallery Hotel de l'Opera Hanoi, which opened in 2011. For historical reasons associated with the Vietnam War, the Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel was not named the Hanoi Hilton.
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