Magyar Állami Operaház, Budapest

The Hungarian State Opera House is the grand opera and ballet theatre before you, designed by Miklós Ybl in a Neo-Renaissance style. Its construction began in 1875, and the house opened to the public on the 27th of September 1884. The façade carries a musical theme, with statues of Ferenc Erkel and Franz Liszt placed in niches beside the main entrance.

Erkel composed Hungary’s national anthem and became the Opera House’s inaugural music director, while Liszt is Hungary’s best-known composer. Inside, marble columns lead into a foyer whose vaulted ceiling bears murals of the Muses by Bertalan Székely and Mór Than. The auditorium is horseshoe-shaped and holds 1,261 people.

A 3,050-kilogram bronze chandelier lights Károly Lotz’s fresco of the gods on Olympus, while the royal box is adorned with figures representing soprano, alto, tenor and bass. The building is considered one of Ybl’s masterpieces, and its acoustics rank among the finest in the world. Gustav Mahler directed the institution from 1888 to 1891, and the Budapest Opera Ball has taken place here since 1886.