The Municipal Theater
VGP - The building that many consider to be the golden glory of French architectural achievement and I must admit, my favorite French colonial building. Modeled on Charles Garnier’s Paris Opera in flamboyant Neo-Baroque style, the Opera was designed by sources – or 1914, if you believe French art historians. In its time, it was the only European style opera house east of Cairo.
From afar, the rectangular porticos at two levels of this
golden vision are united by tall Ionic columns, behind which is a wide central
balcony at the upper level. The roof cornice is joyously festooned with statues
of griffons.
When I was shown through the building for the first
time in 1997 by the Vietnamese architect in charge of its restoration, Dr.
Prof. Hoàng Đạo Kính, he was immensely proud that a poor “to build a temple to
the arts for all the people.” Closely following the original plans, but
installing air-conditioning and heating, he was determined to remain faithful
to the fabric of the original. All Sin Ho, the clay chimney ports from Nha
Trang. Italian has supervised the relaying of the mosaic floor in the foyer and
French artists had seen to the ornamental details of its fine Corinthian
columns in the red-plush auditorium that holds up to eight hundred.
“It may have been designed by a French architect, but
it was built by Vietnamese hands. The Vietnamese are very fine craftsmen.”
He led me up the grand central staircase to the first
floor foyer and I thought at first that he was pointing to the gracefully curved
wooden frames of the Art Deco mirrors, but no, he was pointing to the walls.
“There were many bullet holes here, many people died,
both French and Vietnamese.”
Throughout the Indochinese War and later, during the
American-Việt Nam War, the building was left to decay. Nevertheless, on 19
August 1945, following the surrender of the Japanese, Hồ Chí Minh’s
Revolutionary Committee rushed to one of the balconies of the Opera, unfurled
their banners and declared the establishment of the independent Democratic
Republic of Việt Nam.
The elegant mirrored salon is the one of the most
delightful opera foyers I know, even compared to some of the great opera houses
of
To visit the glorious interior of the Opera with its
marble staircases, crystal chandeliers and gold paintwork, watch Việt Nam News
for announcements of orchestra concerts, often featuring high quality soloists
from abroad.
With my back to the Opera, I cross the open space to
Tràng Tiền. On the corner to the left is the domed building that formerly
housed the elegant French department store, Grands Magasins Reunis, the name of
each department then set in mosaic above an arched window. It is now the Hà Nội
Stock Exchange. I walk a few steps along Tràng Tiền directly in front of the
Opera. Tràng Tiền was the chic shopping street during the French era and it is
still lined with art galleries, booksellers and shops selling beautiful lacquer
and embroidered table and bed linen.
