The Municipal Theatre of Ho Chi Minh City, also known as Saigon Municipal Opera House ( vi, Nhà hát Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh), is an opera house in
Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. It is an example of
French Colonial
French colonial architecture includes several styles of architecture used by the French during colonization. Many former French colonies, especially those in Southeast Asia, have previously been reluctant to promote their colonial architectur ...
architecture in Vietnam.
Built in 1897 by French architect
Eugène Ferret as the ''Opéra de Saïgon'', the 500 seat building was served as the house of the unicameral National Assembly from 1956 to 1967 and then as bicameral houses: Lower House (Hạ Nghị Viện) and a Senate or Upper House (Thượng Nghị Viện) of the National Assembly of
South Vietnam after 1956. And also held the People's Assembly (Đại hội đại biểu Nhân dân) of the
Republic of South Vietnam
The Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (PRG, vi, Chính phủ Cách mạng Lâm thời Cộng hòa Miền Nam Việt Nam), was formed on June 8, 1969, by North Vietnam as a purportedly independent shadow gover ...
from 1975. It was not until 1976 that it was again used as a theatre, and the façade was restored in 1995.
Architecture
![France Paris Petit Palais renove Entree 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/France_Paris_Petit_Palais_renove_Entree_02.jpg)
The Municipal Theatre is a smaller counterpart of the
Hanoi Opera House
The Hanoi Opera House (french: Opéra de Hanoï), or the Grand Opera House ( vi, Nhà hát lớn Hà Nội, french: Grand Opéra) is an opera house in central Hanoi, Vietnam. It was erected by the French colonial administration between 1901 and 191 ...
, which was built between 1901 and 1911, and shaped like the
Opéra Garnier
The Palais Garnier (, Garnier Palace), also known as Opéra Garnier (, Garnier Opera), is a 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
with 800 seats to entertain French colonists. The Municipal Theatre owes its specific characteristics to the work of architect
Félix Olivier, while construction was under supervision of architects Ernest Guichard and Eugène Ferret in 1900.
![Municipal Theatre Saigon 1915](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Municipal_Theatre_Saigon_1915.jpg)
Its architectural style is influenced by the flamboyant style of the
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 19 ...
, with the façade shaped like the
Petit Palais
The Petit Palais (; en, Small Palace) is an art museum in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France.
Built for the 1900 Exposition Universelle ("universal exhibition"), it now houses the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts (''Musée des beaux-arts ...
which was built in the same year in France. The house had a main seating floor plus two levels of seating above, and once was capable of accommodating 1,800 people. The design of all the inscriptions, décor, and furnishings were drawn by a French artist and sent from France.
In accordance with the style employed, the façade of the theatre was decorated with inscription and reliefs (like the
Ho Chi Minh City Hall
Ho Chi Minh City Hall, officially called the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Head Office (''Trụ sở Ủy ban Nhân dân Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh'') is the city hall of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
The hall was built in 1902–1908 in a ...
), but it was criticized as being too ornate. In 1943 some of this decoration was removed, but a portion was restored by the city government for the 300th anniversary of
Saigon in 1998. Today the capacity of the opera house is 500 seats.
History
After the
invasion of Cochinchina and the
establishment of a colony, in 1863 French colonists invited a theatre company to Saigon to perform for the French legion in the villa of the French admiral at the Clock Square (Place de l'Horloge) (presently the corner of Nguyen Du and Dong Khoi streets). After a short time, a temporary theatre was built at the site of what is now the
Caravelle Hotel
The Caravelle Hotel is located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The hotel was opened to the public on Christmas Eve 1959, when the city was known as Saigon. Contemporary journalists noted its use of Italian marble, bullet-proof glass and a "state-o ...
. In 1898, the construction of the new theatre commenced on the site of the old one, and it was completed by 1 January 1900.
Between
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, all costs of mobilization and demobilization as well as other costs for the theatre companies from France to Saigon were paid by the municipal government. Despite the fact that the theatre was planned as an entertainment venue for the growing middle class, its audience declined as more and more night clubs and dance halls boomed in the city. During this period, performances were presented only occasionally, some being concerts and other ''
cai luong
Cai or CAI may refer to:
Places
* Cai (state), a state in ancient China
* Caí River, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
* Cái River, Vietnam
* Cairo International Airport (IATA airport code)
* Caithness, a historic county in Scotland (Chapman code) ...
'' programs.
Following criticisms of the theatre's façade and the high costs of organizing performances, the municipal government intended to turn the theatre into a concert hall (Salle de Concert), but this was never carried out. Instead, decorations, engravings and statues were removed from the theatre façade in 1943 to make the theatre look more youthful. In 1944, the theatre was damaged by the
Allied aerial attacks against
Japanese Imperial Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor ...
, and the theatre stopped functioning. As Japan surrendered to the Allied forces, France returned to Cochinchina. In 1954, the French defeat at the
Battle of Dien Bien Phu led to the
Geneva Accords in the same year. The theatre was then used as a temporary shelter for French civilians arriving from North Vietnam.
In 1955, the theatre was restored as the seat of the Lower House of the
State of Vietnam, then the
Republic of Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of t ...
. After the
Fall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon, also known as the Liberation of Saigon by North Vietnamese or Liberation of the South by the Vietnamese government, and known as Black April by anti-communist overseas Vietnamese was the capture of Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon, t ...
in 1975, the Provisional Revolutionary Government started holding the People's Assembly at the theatre. After the Reunification of Vietnam in 1976, the building was restored to its original function as a theatre. In 1998, on the occasion of 300th anniversary of the founding of Saigon, the municipal government had the theatre façade restored.
In 2020,
Ho Chi Minh City Metro's Opera House Station opened to public viewing, with
Line 1 operations scheduled to begin in 2023.
See also
*
Hanoi Opera House
The Hanoi Opera House (french: Opéra de Hanoï), or the Grand Opera House ( vi, Nhà hát lớn Hà Nội, french: Grand Opéra) is an opera house in central Hanoi, Vietnam. It was erected by the French colonial administration between 1901 and 191 ...
*
Haiphong Opera House
Haiphong Opera House (Vietnamese ''Nhà hát lớn Hải Phòng'') is a French-built neoclassical opera house on Opera Square (''Quảng trường Nhà hát lớn'') in Hai Phong, which was opened in 1912.
History
The first performance of opera in ...
External links
Ho Chi Minh City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera – Official websiteA O Show – Lune Production – Official website
References
{{authority control
Buildings and structures in Ho Chi Minh City
French colonial architecture in Vietnam
Opera houses in Vietnam
Tourist attractions in Ho Chi Minh City
Music venues completed in 1897
Theatres completed in 1897
Former seats of national legislatures