HUNGARIAN NATIONAL OPERA

An integral part of the urban development of Budapest at the end of the 19th century, and of the Andrássy Street route, this neo-Renaissance style palace designed by Miklós Ybl was inaugurated in 1884 after nine years of work. It was inaugurated with great pomp and ceremony, in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife Sissi. Moreover, the emperor was his generous patron for half of the work, on the condition that the proportions of the Budapest building did not exceed those of the Vienna Opera! In addition to several statues (including two sphinxes that frame the facade), a portico with three arches serves as an entrance and is topped by the muses of the dramatic arts. Inside, the grand staircase, made of grey Croatian marble and covered with a red carpet, is flanked by columns of Carrara marble. On the upper floor, communicating with the royal box, the red salon was used by the imperial couple. Mór Than's delicate paintings depict (from left to right) Love and Psyche, Paris holding the golden apple to Aphrodite and The Three Graces. Once an important place for socializing, the foyer now serves as a bar during intermissions. The auditorium, wooded and arranged in a horseshoe shape, is partly gilded with gold leaf. The acoustics are remarkable. If you look up, you will not fail to marvel at the frescoes on the ceiling: The Apotheosis of Music, signed by Károly Lotz, encircles a three-tonne bronze chandelier. The institution finally reopened in 2022 after several years of closure for renovation.