The Budapest Opera: Home of the Two-Ton Chandelier

Last updated on June 23rd, 2020

This richly decorated monument is located at Budapest’s most famous street, the Andrássy Avenue. It was built in 1884 inneo-renaissancestyle, and famously houses a chandelier that weighs 2.1 tons. Its style is eclectic in the sense that it combines renaissance calm and harmonious, geometric forms with the baroque grandiose of gold ornamentation and wall paintings. The architect, Miklós Ybl, took the Parisian Opera as a model so it was designed following the trends of the era. The exterior has more of a classicist feel with its pure architecture elements giving it a typical look of any European capital of the past. At that time only wealthy people could experience this beautiful place, but it has since become a venue open to everyone, offering student discounts, tours, and other kinds of events. Many world famous singers have performed on this stage, like Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo.

It was built in 1884 and famously houses a chandelier that weighs 2.1 tons

Many world famous singers have performed on this stage, like Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo

At the beginning the tickets were so expensive that only wealthy people could afford to visit the Opera

The architect Miklós Ybl took the Parisian Opera as a model, therefore it was designed following the trends of the era

The Budapest Opera is truly one of the most beautiful opera buildings in the world

The Hungarian State Opera

The Hungarian Opera House was featured in Woody Allen’s Love and Death, and was also used in 1972 as a setting for the film Bluebeard starring Richard Burton and in 1989 for The Phantom of the Opera starring Robert Englund. In 2014, Adrien Brody was filmed performing on its stage for the series Houdini. Also for the spy movie Red Sparrow Jennifer Lawrence performed on the Opera House’s stage in 2018. For the TV series shot in the same year called The Alienist, it doubled as New York’s MET. Furthermore, Progressive Productions also shot several projects in the Opera House, for example, a TV commercial for APT Tours and another commercial for Monmilk.