Thread: Best opera house in Europe ?

And I mean the building itself, not the companies working in it. Which are your favourites, which are the best (acoustics, atmosphere, comfort, history, accessibility, decor, etc.) and why? Or the world for those fortunate enough to have experience of them across the continents.

I have never been there but the new opera house in Valencia designed by Santiago Calatrava is a stunning work of art......iconic like the Sydney opera house







Next door in same development complex is new museum center also designed by Calatrava.......

The one here in Amsterdam is a fantastic building. The actual company has a much smaller budget relative to many others so we dont get too many international stars, but technucally this opera house is far ahead of many others.

Ive taken a backstage tour where they show you all the machinery. There are areas on all sides of the stage, out of sight, at least as large as the stage for the placement and movement of apparatus. Some of the tricks they use have been invented by (world's best) dutch engineers specifically for this purpose.

For the seats, we dont have the fancy screens like in the met, but its comfortable enough.

Wow. That Valencia opera house is stunning!
But I have to say that I adore the Oslo opera house:


And, from what I hear (I sadly haven't attended any performances there), the acoustics are great.

And also, the Vienna State Opera, which is so beautifully wonderful. Especially on the inside. Aah, memories.


I have, in fact attended a performance here, and from where I sat (second level boxes on the far right), the acoustics were rather good.

Neoclassical coloss from Warsaw with largest scene of all world's opera houses:




Link for huge picture with all details:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...stoliniowy.jpg

I'm disappointed with you Europeans and your modern buildings (except for those who quoted Vienna and Warsaw).
I'm much more admirative of beautiful places like La Fenice, La Scala, the Liceu, etc. Those are cathedrals of music, with tradition seeping from the walls.
Sure, a modern and comfortable opera house with all the state of the art acoustics is nice, but these modern buildings, as stunning as their architecture can be, will never in my opinion match the great old cathedrals.

I have once visited La Fenice in Venice, before the fire, and it must have been one of the most beautiful. As I understand it has been rebuilt to look the same as it was. La Scala in Milan was an experience, too. Perhaps more for its history and reputation. I like the smallish Zürich Opera House, too. Quite many of its productions have ended up on DVDs!

Our own Finnish National Opera in Helsinki is a modern building with all the technical gimmicks, but the opera houses in Copenhagen and Oslo are even newer. The Valencia beats them all with its futuristic architecture.

If I have to choose one, I would pick La Fenice.

I'm disappointed with you Europeans and your modern buildings

No reason to be disappointed, despite those two examples you disliked there are still much more beautiful and majestic opera houses in the Europe than in all rest of the world - North, South Americas and Australia together

Another very architecturally beautiful building is Palais Garnier. And then there is Mariinsky which I hopefully will attend in February.

Originally Posted by Lipatti

Another very architecturally beautiful building is Palais Garnier. And then there is Mariinsky which I hopefully will attend in February.

Paris opera house palais garnier is probably the ultimate extreme ornate baroque design still standing, the level of detail and grand opulance in some areas is mind numbing, like palace of versailles.........

Originally Posted by DarkAngel

Paris opera house palais garnier is probably the ultimate extreme ornate baroque design still standing, the level of detail and grand opulance in some areas is mind numbing, like palace of versailles.........

The palace of Versailles is made in rococo style, what else could it be A style which at the same time gives me both distaste and fascination. The level of detail is astonishing. The Paris opera on the other hand is made in neo-baroque, like the national theatre here in Oslo - which is a lot more beautiful than the new opera (the theatre's acoustics are seriously bad, though).

excellent thread.

I myself going to design 2000+ seats church that required concert hall acoustic level. I am looking forward for interior and exterior photos for inspirations!

I can scarcely count the number of Opera Houses I have been in (not always hearing operas themselves, but always some musical performance). Of them all, La Scala Milan had the most remarkable accoustic, perhaps rivalled only by Bayreuth. La Fenice's interior (pre-fire) was a wonder from a bygone age, and the majesty of the restored Semperoper (inside & out) in Dresden was a worthy rival to Vienna. From outside, my own Sydney Opera House is a breathtaking building, although the theatres themselves are mediocre.
cheers,
G

I've only been to the opera in Oslo - the old and the new one, and in the new building both the main stage and stage 2. I think the sound is great, the subtitling system is way better in the new opera house than the old, and the building itself is a masterpiece. As was mentioned on a TV program about the building a couple of weeks ago; it seems a lot of people come for the building and stay for the music. They may not know opera much, but want to experience the building, and one thing leads to another.

ETA: Endelig en nordmann til her inne....

Hurra for nordmenn!

And I really don't see anything wrong with new opera houses. Granted, they don't have the history that older opera houses have, but history has a tendency to come with age, does it not?

And also, the toilets in the Norwegian National Opera House are amazing. I do recommend checking them out if you ever are there.