Night at the Budapest State Opera House

Budapest State Opera House

Budapest's State Operahouse is second only to Vienna's in terms of beauty, acoustics, and size. I learned this on one of the two daily tours in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, and of course, Hungarian, at 3 and 4 in the afternoon. The architectural gem dominates Andrassy Utca (Andrássy út 22., VI. district., M1 metroline Opera station, just in front of the Opera House). Designed by Hungarian architect Miklós Ybl and financed by Emperor Franz Joseph,  the building was finished in 1884.


From the impressive foyer, you can see the double grand staircase carpeted in red, and marble pillars that rise regally to support graceful arches above.  Artist Karoly Lotz's painted frescoes depicting Olympus and the Greek gods representing the arts on the ceiling and walls of the different rooms of the Operahouse. Check out the panorama here.  I had paid extra to take photos inside the Operahouse while on the tour. So I was snapping away, trying feebly to capture the elegance of the place for my memory. 

Inside the horseshoe-shaped auditorium, the gilt on the tiered boxes dazzles.  The chairs and walls are decorated in a deep red. We sat down below before the stage, and up above hung an enormous chandelier from Mainz, Germany. All of this made me itch to see a live show in such a place, so I booked a ticket to see a ballet--The Taming of the Shrew, based on Shakespeare's play of the same name. The ballet was originally created for Stuttgart Ballet in 1969.

Detailed elegance of the Opera House, grand entry staircase

Finally I was going to be able to wear the dress and stockings I had packed! I felt less guilty about my inability to pack light when I am wear every stitch of clothing during a trip. Even so, I felt a tad shabby compared to the ladies in the box next to me, decked out in evening wear and some sort of feather shawl. The baubles in their ears and around their necks glittering gold, matching the gilt inlaid on the columns rising to the ceiling of the Opera house.

It was a tad disconcerting to realize that before the show and during intermission, the "show" was looking at others in the audience. Of course, I followed suit, since I love to people watch.

The horse-shoe shaped auditorium, full of gold

Once the ballet got underway, I was mesmerized by the performance. The clothes were gorgeous--made to resemble the 17th century fashion. Kate stole the show, with her temper tantrums.  I had read the play both for a Shakespeare course as an undergraduate and as a graduate student at Miami University, and enjoyed it each time.  Then when Kathleen Turner and Bruce Willis did a mock version of this when Moonlighting was still airing on television. 'Course I don't much like when Kate is supposedly "tamed" by Petruchio, made to wait at the alter, ride in the cold, kept from eating and drinking. That part is just plain mean.  The ballet does a good job of showing Kate become more devious--do Petruchio's bidding and get what she wants in return, too.  That seems more reasonable to me, rather than Kate becoming the mindless dote that her sister Bianca seems to be. 

Afterwards, I headed home on the metro, stepping lighter as if dancing my own ballet, delighted as I was by the memorable night.