National Theatre
Golden-roofed neo-Renaissance theatre on the Vltava, home to Czech opera, drama and ballet.
The National Theatre was built with money raised by public subscription as a symbol of Czech cultural self-assertion within the Habsburg Empire. Josef Zítek's neo-Renaissance design opened in June 1881, but a fire that August gutted the auditorium; a second collection financed a rapid rebuilding by Josef Schulz, and the theatre reopened on 18 November 1883 with Smetana's Libuše. Its gilded roof, loggia and riverside setting beside the Vltava have made it one of the defining images of Prague.
The interior was decorated by the so-called Generation of the National Theatre, including Mikoláš Aleš, František Ženíšek and Vojtěch Hynais, whose celebrated stage curtain depicts the building of the theatre itself. Today the institution runs opera, drama and ballet companies and manages four stages: the historic building, the Estates Theatre, the State Opera and the adjacent New Stage of 1983. Performances are given in Czech or the original language, usually with English surtitles.
Highlights
- Gilded roof and riverside loggia, a landmark of the Vltava embankment
- Vojtěch Hynais's painted stage curtain of 1883
- Auditorium ceiling with Ženíšek's cycle of the Muses
- Opera, drama and ballet companies sharing four Prague stages
