The Opera House // a Status Symbol Translated Across Cultures by Lenna Johnsen
Théâtre Des Petits Cabinets // 1747-1751 // Versailles
Berlin Opera House // 1745 // Berlin // Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff
The Grand Theatre // 1773-80 // Bourdeaux // Victor Louis
T he opera house as a status symbol is rooted in the development of exclusive private theatres in the 17th and 18th centuries and the strong tradition of attending operas. As Enlightenment designers began to focus on public buildings, the opera house was considered a vehicle for educating all the classes. These public theatres became symbols of culture for their cities, a fact capitalized on by emerging nations in the 19th century who mimicked and adapted European models to express their political power. However, in the 20th and 21st centuries it became more important to be iconic than European, with the rise of Nationalism and the desire to move away from the past and into the future. The building type itself has persisted as a status symbol, but opera house design has adapted to specific historical and cultural contexts.
Royal Opera House // 1858// Covent Garden, London // Edward Barry
Opéra de Paris // 1861 -75// Paris // Charles Garnier
Khedivial Opera House // 1869 // Cairo // P. Avoscani and Rossi
Haymarket Theatre // 1796// Boston // unknown
Teatro Colon // 1890-1908 // Buenos Aires // Francesco Tamburini, Victor Meano, and Julio Dormal
Hanoi Opera House // 1901-11 // Vietnam // Unknown (French)
A Concert Hall // 1940 // G. Dimond Jr., D. Griswold, and Vikre
Theatro Municipal // 1909// Rio de Janiero // Albert Guilbert
Lincoln Center // 1955-1969 // New York City
Auditorium Building // 1889 // Chicago // Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan
Radio City Music Hall // 1932 // NYC // Edward Durell Stone
Sydney Opera House // 1957-1973 // Sydney, Australia // Jørn Utzon
Federal Theatre Project // 1935-39 // USA // Works Progress Administration
Royal National Theatre // 1976 // London // Denys Lasdun
Guthrie Theater // 2006 // Minneapolis // Jean Nouvel
Oslo Opera House // 2007 // Oslo, Norway // Snøhetta
Guangzhou Opera House // 2010 // Guangzhou // Zaha Hadid