Bucharest National Opera
State opera and ballet company in a 1953 hall on Bulevardul Mihail Kogalniceanu.
The company traces its origins to the Romanian Opera founded in 1921, whose first performances were conducted by George Enescu. For three decades it worked in borrowed halls before moving into a purpose-built house on Bulevardul Mihail Kogalniceanu, designed by Octav Doicescu and opened on 9 January 1953. The building is a restrained monumental design with a colonnaded front and a horseshoe auditorium seating around 950 people, set in a small park beside the Dambovita river.
The repertoire covers standard Italian, French, German and Russian opera together with a large classical ballet programme, and the house maintains its own orchestra, chorus and ballet company. Seasons typically run from autumn to summer and are released in blocks, with new productions announced alongside revivals. A foyer display records singers associated with the house, including Elena Teodorini and Hariclea Darclee, and a statue of George Enescu stands in front of the building.
Highlights
- Horseshoe auditorium seating around 950
- Resident opera chorus, orchestra and ballet company
- Statue of George Enescu in front of the building
- Repertoire of standard opera and classical ballet
