Page 94 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Hungary

92  BUD APEST AREA B Y AREA AROUND P ARLIA MENT  93

9 Hungarian State Chandelier VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Opera The main hall is decorated
with a bronze chandelier that
weighs 3,050 kg (3 tons). It Practical Information
Andrássy út 22. Map 2 E4. Tel (1)
Opened in September 1884, the State Opera illuminates a magnificent 332 81 97 or 353 01 70 (box office).
fresco by Károly Lotz of the
House in Budapest was built to rival those of Greek gods on Olympus. & ^ 7 = 8 3pm & 4pm
Paris, Vienna and Dresden. Its beautiful daily. ∑ operavisit.hu
architecture and interiors were the life’s work of Transport
the great Hungarian architect, Miklós Ybl. The q Opera. v 4, 6.
interior contains ornamentation by Hungarian
artists, including Alajos Strobl and Károly Lotz.
During its lifetime, the State Opera House has
seen some influential music directors, including Façade
Ferenc Erkel, com poser of the Hungarian opera A musical theme underlies the decoration of
Bánk Bán, Gustav Mahler and Otto Klemperer. the symmetrical façade. In niches on either side
of the main entrance there are figures of two of
Hungary’s most prominent compo sers, Ferenc
Erkel and Ferenc (Franz) Liszt. Both were
sculpted by Alajos Stróbl.

Murals
The vaulted ceiling of Central Stage
the foyer is covered in This proscenium arch stage employed
magnificent murals by the most modern technology of the
Bertalan Székely and time. It featured a revolving stage and
Mór Than. They depict metal hydraulic machinery.
the nine Muses.

. Foyer
With its marble columns,
gilded vaulted ceiling,
murals and chandeliers,
the foyer gives the
State Opera House
a feeling of opulence
and grandeur.

Main Entrance
Wrought-iron
lamps illuminate
the wide stone
staircase and the
main entrance. Miklós Ybl (1814–91)
The most prominent Hungarian architect of
the second half of the 19th century, Miklós
Ybl had an enormous influence on the . Royal Box
development of Budapest. He was a Located centrally in
practitioner of Historicism, and tended the three-storey circle, the
. Main Staircase royal box is decorated with
Going to the opera to use Neo-Renaissance forms. The sculptures symbolizing
State Opera House and the dome
was a great social of St Stephen’s Basilica are the four operatic voices –
occasion in the soprano, alto, tenor and bass.
19th century. A vast, examples of his work. Ybl also
built apartment buildings and
KEY sweeping staircase palaces for the aristocracy in this
was an important style. A statue of the architect
1 The side entrance has a element of the opera stands on the western bank of the
loggia that reflects the design house, as it allowed Danube, in Miklós Ybl Square. Bust of Miklós Ybl
of the main entrance. ladies to show off
their new gowns.
For hotels and restaurants see pp264–269 and pp276–285

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