Building
The opera house was built between 1904 and 1906 by the famous Austrian architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer who designed several theatres and palaces across Europe in the late 19th century and early 20th century, including the theatres in Iaşi, Oradea, Timişoara and Chernivtsi (Romanian: Cernăuţi).
The building opened on 8 September 1906 with Ferenc Herczeg's Bujdosók and until 1919, as Cluj was part of the Kingdom of Hungary, it was home to the local Hungarian National Theatre (Hungarian: Nemzeti Színház).
Since 1919, the building has been home to the local Romanian National Theatre and Romanian Opera, while the local Hungarian Theatre and Opera received the theatre building in Emil Isac street, close to the Central Park and Someşul Mic River.
The hall initially has a capacity of 928 places, being conceived in the Neo-baroque style, with some inflexions inspired by Art Nouveau in the decoration of the foyer.
Read more about this topic: Cluj-Napoca Romanian National Opera
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