Municipal Theater or Opera House

Architect (French)?
1900





Note: these pictures were taken on two different days--which explains why the banners on the facade are different.

This restored three-story theater has an auditorium with 1800 seats and with modern light and sound equipment. originally, it was built by the French and intended as an opera house. In 1955 it became South Vietnam's National Assembly building.
Today the building has been renovated as a theater for a variety of traditional and classical performances--plays, concerts, ballet, opera, and Vietnamese traditional dance.
 
Colonial architecture in Vietnam usually adopts Greco-Roman motifs--here a large central arch, a type of Ionic column, coffered ceiling, and the caryatids (though less modestly clothed than Greek examples). The applied ornament, balustrades, cartouches, and roof are particularly French.
 

The caryatids
 

Decorative ornament relating to music

 



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© 2004 Mary Ann Sullivan. I have photographed (on site), scanned, and manipulated all the images on these pages. Please feel free to use them for personal or educational purposes. They are not available for commercial purposes.

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