EUROPE
01
AIX-EN-PROVENCE
EUROPE
THÉÂTRE DE L’ARCHEVÊCHÉ
02
28 Place des Martyrs de la Résistance, 13100 Aix-en-Provence, France TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE BECAUSE
Enjoy Don Juan aux étoiles (‘Don Juan among the stars’) on this historic courtyard stage at the heart of the renowned Festival d’Aix-en-Provence.
12
Our first entry is not an opera house, strictly speaking. Yet it is highly representative of how the art form is enjoyed today – often in unlikely places, on a starry summer’s evening. Every July, an opera festival takes over the city of Aix-en-Provence; and at its core is the Théâtre de l’Archevêché, set in a historic courtyard with ochre façades, a grand staircase, medieval vaults and 17th-century wings. ‘The courtyard of the former Archbishop’s Palace, the historical heart of the Festival, is the place where it is embodied par excellence; it has undergone many transformations and has housed various theatres since the first performances of Così fan tutte in 1948,’ wrote playwright Anne Le Berre. Its latest refurb, in 1997, lets the beauty of the Provençal setting shine through, while welcoming 1,280 spectators to performances of reimagined classics such as The Magic Flute. It is a fittingly enchanting showcase for the festival’s pioneering programme, which features collaborations with leading companies and specially commissioned operas, such as Innocence by Kaija Saariaho.
festival-aix.com
AMSTERDAM
DUTCH NATIONAL OPERA & BALLET Amstel 3, 1011 PN Amsterdam, Netherlands
TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE BECAUSE
Despite a rocky start, this awardwinning canal-side institution enchants audiences with its creativity, daring and craftsmanship.
13
It took several decades and many heated discussions for the City of Amsterdam to finally give the green light in the 1980s to a project combining the city hall and opera in a building designed by Wilhelm Holzbauer and Cees Dam. But that didn’t mean the drama was over: riots broke out as the first piles were finally driven into the ground, to cries of ‘Stop the opera!’ The slogan gave the brick-and-metal building its local nickname, ‘Stopera’, and the project went seriously over budget, but tempers have thankfully since cooled off. Today, the audience flows into the opera’s glazed foyers, with panoramic views of the Amstel River, and into the three-tier circular auditorium with 1,600 seats. Its 600-strong team, comprising tailors, shoemakers and set painters, is dedicated ‘to enriching the lives of as many people as possible with the wonder, beauty and meaning of opera and ballet’. Productions range from spoken-word youth operas to retellings of classics including Semele, and The Knife of Dawn, the story of a Guyanese political activist.
operaballet.nl
EUROPE
01
AIX-EN-PROVENCE
EUROPE
THÉÂTRE DE L’ARCHEVÊCHÉ
02
28 Place des Martyrs de la Résistance, 13100 Aix-en-Provence, France TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE BECAUSE
Enjoy Don Juan aux étoiles (‘Don Juan among the stars’) on this historic courtyard stage at the heart of the renowned Festival d’Aix-en-Provence.
12
Our first entry is not an opera house, strictly speaking. Yet it is highly representative of how the art form is enjoyed today – often in unlikely places, on a starry summer’s evening. Every July, an opera festival takes over the city of Aix-en-Provence; and at its core is the Théâtre de l’Archevêché, set in a historic courtyard with ochre façades, a grand staircase, medieval vaults and 17th-century wings. ‘The courtyard of the former Archbishop’s Palace, the historical heart of the Festival, is the place where it is embodied par excellence; it has undergone many transformations and has housed various theatres since the first performances of Così fan tutte in 1948,’ wrote playwright Anne Le Berre. Its latest refurb, in 1997, lets the beauty of the Provençal setting shine through, while welcoming 1,280 spectators to performances of reimagined classics such as The Magic Flute. It is a fittingly enchanting showcase for the festival’s pioneering programme, which features collaborations with leading companies and specially commissioned operas, such as Innocence by Kaija Saariaho.
festival-aix.com
AMSTERDAM
DUTCH NATIONAL OPERA & BALLET Amstel 3, 1011 PN Amsterdam, Netherlands
TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE BECAUSE
Despite a rocky start, this awardwinning canal-side institution enchants audiences with its creativity, daring and craftsmanship.
13
It took several decades and many heated discussions for the City of Amsterdam to finally give the green light in the 1980s to a project combining the city hall and opera in a building designed by Wilhelm Holzbauer and Cees Dam. But that didn’t mean the drama was over: riots broke out as the first piles were finally driven into the ground, to cries of ‘Stop the opera!’ The slogan gave the brick-and-metal building its local nickname, ‘Stopera’, and the project went seriously over budget, but tempers have thankfully since cooled off. Today, the audience flows into the opera’s glazed foyers, with panoramic views of the Amstel River, and into the three-tier circular auditorium with 1,600 seats. Its 600-strong team, comprising tailors, shoemakers and set painters, is dedicated ‘to enriching the lives of as many people as possible with the wonder, beauty and meaning of opera and ballet’. Productions range from spoken-word youth operas to retellings of classics including Semele, and The Knife of Dawn, the story of a Guyanese political activist.
operaballet.nl
EUROPE
12
BOLOGNA
EUROPE
TEATRO COMUNALE DI BOLOGNA
13
Largo Respighi, 1, 40126 Bologna, Italy
One of the oldest opera houses in Italy, this 1763 landmark is about to reopen with a new entrance, restaurant and rehearsal room on the Giardino del Guasto.
Bologna’s magnificent Teatro Comunale was built on the site of a palace razed to the ground by rioters in 1507. Worried perhaps about it suffering the same fate, the Bolognese Senate decided to tighten the budget of the project created for them by famous stage architect Antonio Galli Bibiena (whose brother Giuseppe designed the Margravial, page 20). The first major opera house built with public funds and owned by a municipality, the resulting auditorium is still a showstopper: a Baroque bell-shaped space lined with four tiers of boxes in cream and gold. Gluck composed his Il trionfo di Clelia for its opening, while 20 of Rossini’s operas were staged there. The theatre also helped introduce Wagner’s music to Italy, and the great composer Arturo Toscanini worked with the company until the Second World War. You could also admire a wonderful wooden model of its auditorium at the nearby International Museum and Library of Music, or head to Mantua, where Antonio Galli Bibiena’s Teatro Scientifico del Bibiena is now a museum.
28
tcbo.it
TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE BECAUSE
BORDEAUX
GRAND-THÉÂTRE DE BORDEAUX Place de la Comédie, 33000 Bordeaux, France
TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE BECAUSE
This 18th-century masterpiece with exceptional acoustics continues to impress with fast-paced productions such as 2025’s Romeo and Juliet.
29
On 7 April 1780, a huge crowd gathered in front of Bordeaux’s sparkling new theatre to celebrate its inauguration. After seven years of construction, they were dazzled by Victor Louis’s creation. Its portico, with 12 Corinthian columns topped by statues of muses and goddesses, must have seemed like a mirage. And there are more columns inside: the large entrance hall has 16 – Doric, this time – and a monumental staircase, designed as a ‘catwalk’, on which the great and good could show off. The auditorium’s ceiling artwork pays homage to the city and the craftspeople who built the theatre, and was once illuminated by candles placed on a ledge along the walls rather than on chandeliers, to stop wax from dripping onto the audience. Over the years, the Grand-Théâtre has welcomed the most famous artists of the time, from Liszt and Petipa to Plácido Domingo and Cecilia Bartoli. Today it is managed by the Opéra National de Bordeaux, and its dynamic programme of opera, ballet and theatre attracts over 50 per cent new spectators every season.
opera-bordeaux.com
EUROPE
12
BOLOGNA
EUROPE
TEATRO COMUNALE DI BOLOGNA
13
Largo Respighi, 1, 40126 Bologna, Italy
One of the oldest opera houses in Italy, this 1763 landmark is about to reopen with a new entrance, restaurant and rehearsal room on the Giardino del Guasto.
Bologna’s magnificent Teatro Comunale was built on the site of a palace razed to the ground by rioters in 1507. Worried perhaps about it suffering the same fate, the Bolognese Senate decided to tighten the budget of the project created for them by famous stage architect Antonio Galli Bibiena (whose brother Giuseppe designed the Margravial, page 20). The first major opera house built with public funds and owned by a municipality, the resulting auditorium is still a showstopper: a Baroque bell-shaped space lined with four tiers of boxes in cream and gold. Gluck composed his Il trionfo di Clelia for its opening, while 20 of Rossini’s operas were staged there. The theatre also helped introduce Wagner’s music to Italy, and the great composer Arturo Toscanini worked with the company until the Second World War. You could also admire a wonderful wooden model of its auditorium at the nearby International Museum and Library of Music, or head to Mantua, where Antonio Galli Bibiena’s Teatro Scientifico del Bibiena is now a museum.
28
tcbo.it
TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE BECAUSE
BORDEAUX
GRAND-THÉÂTRE DE BORDEAUX Place de la Comédie, 33000 Bordeaux, France
TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE BECAUSE
This 18th-century masterpiece with exceptional acoustics continues to impress with fast-paced productions such as 2025’s Romeo and Juliet.
29
On 7 April 1780, a huge crowd gathered in front of Bordeaux’s sparkling new theatre to celebrate its inauguration. After seven years of construction, they were dazzled by Victor Louis’s creation. Its portico, with 12 Corinthian columns topped by statues of muses and goddesses, must have seemed like a mirage. And there are more columns inside: the large entrance hall has 16 – Doric, this time – and a monumental staircase, designed as a ‘catwalk’, on which the great and good could show off. The auditorium’s ceiling artwork pays homage to the city and the craftspeople who built the theatre, and was once illuminated by candles placed on a ledge along the walls rather than on chandeliers, to stop wax from dripping onto the audience. Over the years, the Grand-Théâtre has welcomed the most famous artists of the time, from Liszt and Petipa to Plácido Domingo and Cecilia Bartoli. Today it is managed by the Opéra National de Bordeaux, and its dynamic programme of opera, ballet and theatre attracts over 50 per cent new spectators every season.
opera-bordeaux.com
EUROPE
28
GENEVA
GRAND THÉÂTRE DE GENÈVE Boulevard du Théâtre 11, 1204 Geneva, Switzerland
TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE BECAUSE
The largest stage in Switzerland presents nine opera performances every year, alongside fun events including opera-themed drinks and youth workshops.
54
Opened in 1879 with a performance of William Tell, this resplendent Beaux-Arts building is somewhat unexpected in the Calvinist city. It was only towards the middle of the 18th century, under the influence of Voltaire, that theatre and opera started to flourish just outside the city walls. Charles II, Duke of Brunswick (incidentally the loser of chess’s famous ‘Opera Game’), funded a new theatre by Émile Reverdin and Gaspard André. The Palais Garnier-inspired façade is original, while the woodpanelled auditorium dates from the 1960s, and boasts a spectacular metalwork curtain. The building is closed until June 2027 for the renovation of its stage machinery and services, but the Grand Théâtre continues to operate from the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices. Recent performances include a new production of Castor et Pollux as well as 200 Motels, a musictheatre fresco by Frank Zappa. Don’t miss the theatre’s popular Apéropéras, a blend of cocktails, canapés, live music and presentations on themes such as Pelléas et Mélisande.
gtg.ch
EUROPE
28
GENEVA
GRAND THÉÂTRE DE GENÈVE Boulevard du Théâtre 11, 1204 Geneva, Switzerland
TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE BECAUSE
The largest stage in Switzerland presents nine opera performances every year, alongside fun events including opera-themed drinks and youth workshops.
54
Opened in 1879 with a performance of William Tell, this resplendent Beaux-Arts building is somewhat unexpected in the Calvinist city. It was only towards the middle of the 18th century, under the influence of Voltaire, that theatre and opera started to flourish just outside the city walls. Charles II, Duke of Brunswick (incidentally the loser of chess’s famous ‘Opera Game’), funded a new theatre by Émile Reverdin and Gaspard André. The Palais Garnier-inspired façade is original, while the woodpanelled auditorium dates from the 1960s, and boasts a spectacular metalwork curtain. The building is closed until June 2027 for the renovation of its stage machinery and services, but the Grand Théâtre continues to operate from the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices. Recent performances include a new production of Castor et Pollux as well as 200 Motels, a musictheatre fresco by Frank Zappa. Don’t miss the theatre’s popular Apéropéras, a blend of cocktails, canapés, live music and presentations on themes such as Pelléas et Mélisande.
gtg.ch
ASIA
90
ASTANA
ASIA
ASTANA OPERA
91
Dinmukhamed Qonayev Street 1, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan
BAKU
AZERBAIJAN STATE OPERA Nizami Street 95, Baku, Azerbaijan
TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE BECAUSE
The largest theatre in Central Asia, this landmark is much younger than it seems, and it stands out in a city filled with architectural oddities.
148
Astana has two opera halls. The first is located in the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, a 62 m-high glass pyramid, which is only one of many unusual buildings found in the Kazakh capital (there’s also a tower topped with a golden egg, a circus tent mall and an arts centre nicknamed the Dog Bowl). The second is this altogether more traditional opera house, built on Kazakh former president Nursultan Nazarbayev’s personal orders. Part of Nazarbayev’s nation-building construction spree, it is topped with a statue of Queen Tomyris and flanked by sculptures of musicians playing traditional Kazakh instruments. Inside, circular motifs recall the felt yurts of the once-nomadic Kazakhs. The red-and-gold hall seats 1,200 and has excellent acoustics. ‘Our goal is to make opera and ballet part of the spiritual life of Kazakhstanis, to instil in them a taste for music and high aesthetic demands,’ said its first deputy director, Toleubek Alpiyev. Programming ranges from Karagoz, a Romeo and Juliet-style ballet set on the country’s steppes, to Kyz-Zhibek, an opera based on a Kazakh folk poem.
astanaopera.kz
TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE BECAUSE
An unusual building with a colourful history, this historic opera house reflects a fusion of global influences typical of Baku’s oil boom era.
149
In 1910, the Russian soprano Antonina Nezhdanova visited Baku, performing to enraptured audiences. Asked when she would be back, she haughtily replied she wouldn’t return to a city whose inhabitants couldn’t even be bothered to build a decent opera house. Obviously, that spurred them on to do just so, and the Mailov Theater, now known as the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera, was soon built thanks to local magnates. True to her word, Nezhdanova was first to perform in the new building, designed by local architect Nikolai Bayev, in 1911. It was constructed in record time after philanthropist Zeynalabdin Taghiyev promised to cover the entire cost of the project if completed in less than a year; 200 workers worked in three shifts to build the opera house in less than 10 months. Bayev constructed hundreds of buildings in Baku, but this art nouveau creation is his most striking by far. Recently restored and led by Ayyub Guliyev, it is the perfect setting to enjoy a performance of Leyli and Majnun, composed in 1908 by Uzeyir Hajibeyli, the father of Azerbaijani classical music.
+994 12 490 15 98
ASIA
90
ASTANA
ASIA
ASTANA OPERA
91
Dinmukhamed Qonayev Street 1, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan
BAKU
AZERBAIJAN STATE OPERA Nizami Street 95, Baku, Azerbaijan
TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE BECAUSE
The largest theatre in Central Asia, this landmark is much younger than it seems, and it stands out in a city filled with architectural oddities.
148
Astana has two opera halls. The first is located in the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, a 62 m-high glass pyramid, which is only one of many unusual buildings found in the Kazakh capital (there’s also a tower topped with a golden egg, a circus tent mall and an arts centre nicknamed the Dog Bowl). The second is this altogether more traditional opera house, built on Kazakh former president Nursultan Nazarbayev’s personal orders. Part of Nazarbayev’s nation-building construction spree, it is topped with a statue of Queen Tomyris and flanked by sculptures of musicians playing traditional Kazakh instruments. Inside, circular motifs recall the felt yurts of the once-nomadic Kazakhs. The red-and-gold hall seats 1,200 and has excellent acoustics. ‘Our goal is to make opera and ballet part of the spiritual life of Kazakhstanis, to instil in them a taste for music and high aesthetic demands,’ said its first deputy director, Toleubek Alpiyev. Programming ranges from Karagoz, a Romeo and Juliet-style ballet set on the country’s steppes, to Kyz-Zhibek, an opera based on a Kazakh folk poem.
astanaopera.kz
TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE BECAUSE
An unusual building with a colourful history, this historic opera house reflects a fusion of global influences typical of Baku’s oil boom era.
149
In 1910, the Russian soprano Antonina Nezhdanova visited Baku, performing to enraptured audiences. Asked when she would be back, she haughtily replied she wouldn’t return to a city whose inhabitants couldn’t even be bothered to build a decent opera house. Obviously, that spurred them on to do just so, and the Mailov Theater, now known as the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera, was soon built thanks to local magnates. True to her word, Nezhdanova was first to perform in the new building, designed by local architect Nikolai Bayev, in 1911. It was constructed in record time after philanthropist Zeynalabdin Taghiyev promised to cover the entire cost of the project if completed in less than a year; 200 workers worked in three shifts to build the opera house in less than 10 months. Bayev constructed hundreds of buildings in Baku, but this art nouveau creation is his most striking by far. Recently restored and led by Ayyub Guliyev, it is the perfect setting to enjoy a performance of Leyli and Majnun, composed in 1908 by Uzeyir Hajibeyli, the father of Azerbaijani classical music.
+994 12 490 15 98
THE AMERICAS
128
DETROIT
DETROIT OPERA HOUSE 1526 Broadway Street, Detroit, Michigan 48226, United States
Abandoned for three years, saved from the wrecking ball and then painstakingly restored, this historic venue boasts spectacular interiors and spellbinding operas.
Designed by Charles Howard Crane in 1922, the Detroit Opera House started life as a 3,500-seat movie theatre with its own 40-piece orchestra, and a concert venue visited by jazz legends Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. ‘It has been an integral part of Detroit’s culture and history,’ explains Michael Hauser, the institution’s curator of architecture and history. ‘Its existence has been threatened in the past, but it has survived wars, the Great Depression, civil unrest, economic meltdowns, the abandonment of downtown, and, most recently, a pandemic.’ Rescued by Detroit Opera after years of neglect, it reopened in 1996 with a production of La bohème. Fully restored in 2005, its lavish Grand Hall and proscenium arch depicting industry and commerce in Detroit are back to their former glory. With seats for up to 2,700 spectators, it hosts everything from travelling Broadway hits to Detroit Opera’s groundbreaking productions, which range from a new staging of Poul Ruders’ 1998 The Handmaid’s Tale to Yuval Sharon’s sci-fi take on Così fan tutte.
216
detroitopera.org
TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE BECAUSE
THE AMERICAS
128
DETROIT
DETROIT OPERA HOUSE 1526 Broadway Street, Detroit, Michigan 48226, United States
Abandoned for three years, saved from the wrecking ball and then painstakingly restored, this historic venue boasts spectacular interiors and spellbinding operas.
Designed by Charles Howard Crane in 1922, the Detroit Opera House started life as a 3,500-seat movie theatre with its own 40-piece orchestra, and a concert venue visited by jazz legends Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. ‘It has been an integral part of Detroit’s culture and history,’ explains Michael Hauser, the institution’s curator of architecture and history. ‘Its existence has been threatened in the past, but it has survived wars, the Great Depression, civil unrest, economic meltdowns, the abandonment of downtown, and, most recently, a pandemic.’ Rescued by Detroit Opera after years of neglect, it reopened in 1996 with a production of La bohème. Fully restored in 2005, its lavish Grand Hall and proscenium arch depicting industry and commerce in Detroit are back to their former glory. With seats for up to 2,700 spectators, it hosts everything from travelling Broadway hits to Detroit Opera’s groundbreaking productions, which range from a new staging of Poul Ruders’ 1998 The Handmaid’s Tale to Yuval Sharon’s sci-fi take on Così fan tutte.
216
detroitopera.org
TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE BECAUSE
Texts Léa Teuscher Copy-editing Amy Haagsma Book Design ASB (Atelier Sven Beirnaert) Typesetting Keppie & Keppie Back cover image Jan Windszus / Komische Oper Berlin
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