State Opera Prague, Opera house in Vinohrady, Czech Republic.
The State Opera is a Renaissance Revival building on Wilsonova Street in Vinohrady, its light stone facade built over rusticated stone. A four-column portico stands above a broad staircase and three arched entrances, and the central bay rises to a triangular pediment inscribed "STÁTNÍ OPERA", topped by a dark statue group and flanked by two corner statues.
The New German Theatre was built in under two years by the Viennese firm Fellner & Helmer with Karl Hasenauer, supervised by Prague architect Alfons Wertmüller, and opened on 5 January 1888 with Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Its first director, Angelo Neumann, brought singers such as Enrico Caruso and Nellie Melba as guests. The German Theatre Association sold the building to the Czechoslovak state in January 1939.
The theatre's German founders staged opera and drama in German until 1938; after 1945 it became a Czech stage, opening with Smetana's Brandenburgers in Bohemia on 4 September 1945. Today the National Theatre's Opera and Ballet ensembles perform here, around 300 shows a year.
The building sits conveniently in Vinohrady and is accessible by public transport, making it easy to visit. Check the performance schedule in advance to find shows that match your interests and availability.
The building was erected in under two years by the Viennese firm Fellner & Helmer with Karl Hasenauer, architect of Vienna's Burgtheater, while Prague architect Alfons Wertmüller supervised construction. Its opening on 5 January 1888 was a performance of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, conducted under first director Angelo Neumann.
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