A Racing View of Opera Houses Around the World Quiz

Answer: Italy

Till the 1630s opera was usually performed at palaces and courts and thus only seen by nobility, due to a lack of places for its performance as well as the expensive and elaborate costumes required. In 1637 the Teatro di San Cassiano, the first public opera house, was opened in Venice, allowing the common people the possibility of viewing an operatic performance.

Answer: Milan

This majestic neo-classical building was founded by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria and designed by the famous Italian architect Giuseppe Piermarini. The theatre was built on the grounds of what used to be the church of Santa Maria alla Scala, giving its name to the opera house.

It opened its doors in August of 1778, with the opera "L'Europa riconosciuta" by Antonio Salieri. The theatre has been renovated on several occasions throughout its history. It was severely damaged during WWII as the theatre was heavily bombed, and had to be rebuilt before it was reopened in 1946.

Its latest renovations took place from 2002 to 2004, in which the utmost care was taken to bring back its original architectural and decorative splendour of the 18th century.

Answer: Barcelona

The Barcelona music palace was built in a very unique and emblematic modernist style for the Orfeó Catalá. Designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, and mainly built by funds from the elite of Barcelona and other private owners, it opened its doors in 1908.

The Palau's distinctive feature is its steel structure, and its stained glass walls allowing the sunlight to come into the building, filling it with light and colours.

Answer: Manaus

The theatre was built in the years of the Brazilian Belle Epoque, when the area thrived financially due to the extraction of rubber. The original idea came from Antonio Jose Fernandes Júnior, who wanted to build a "jewel in the heart of the Amazon jungle". No expense was to be spared - it would even include electrical lighting, at a time when most of Brazil still had no electricity. Everything was to be imported: marble from Carrara in Italy; the chandeliers and the glass from Murano; the furniture from France in the style of Louis XV; the roofing tiles from Alsace; and even the steel was imported from England.

It was designed in a Renaissance style and it finally took seventeen years to build, finally opening in 1896.

Answer: Wiener Staatsoper

The ball takes place at the Wiener Staatsoper or Vienna State Opera, as it is more commonly known. The event closes the Viennese carnival season, with the most lavish high society ball held annually in Europe. Hundreds of couples dance in unison to the music of the Viennese waltzes, the women dressed immaculately in long ball gowns and the men in evening dress and tails.

The auditorium is completely transformed by taking out all the seats and laying down a wooden floor, making it the most luxurious ballroom in the world.

The ball has gained international fame, attracting celebrities, politicians and royalty from all over the world.

Answer: Holmen

This impressive building which was opened to the public in 2005, and is considered to be one of the most modern and costly opera houses in the world. The modern structure was designed by the Danish architect Henning Larsen and is fourteen storeys high, five of which are below the water level. Perhaps its most interesting feature is its large cantilevered floating roof, which is one of the largest roof constructions in the world. In 2008 the Copenhagen Opera House was awarded the IABSE Outstanding Structure Award.

Answer: Sydney Opera House

Sydney Opera House is probably the most recognizable opera house in the world, not only for its structure but for its incredible location in Sydney's harbour, next to the Harbour Bridge and the Botanical gardens. This 20th century architectural masterpiece is famous for its novel design that fits in perfectly with its surroundings. It was inaugurated in 1973 by Queen Elizabeth II, took sixteen years to build, and cost ten times more its original budget.

Answer: Metropolitan Opera House - New York

The New York Metropolitan Opera House can seat 3,800 people and has standing room for another 195. The new Metropolitan Opera House, which opened at Lincoln Center in September of 1966 was designed by Wallace K. Harrison. Each season the Met puts on more than 200 opera performances, and it is estimated that yearly more than 800,000 people actually go to the theatre and watch the performances.

The Met is also involved in innovative projects to distribute and broadcast its shows worldwide through television and cinema, reaching millions of viewers.

Answer: Théâtre d'Orange, France

The UNESCO designation is "Roman Theatre and its Surroundings and the "Triumphal Arch" of Orange". In 1869, an annual "Roman Festival" was started, which became the "Chorégies" in 1902. Though many works, including plays, musicals and symphonies, have been performed at the theatre, it wasn't until 1969 that it became solely an opera festival.

Answer: Covent Garden

The Royal Opera House is a Grade One listed building, and is home to both the Royal Opera and Royal Ballet companies, as well as theit attendant orchestras. Its original use was as a playhouse, when it was known as the Theatre Royal. The first operas to be performed there, written by Handel, were seen from 1735. Covent Garden fruit market was situated in the area from the mid 1650s until 1973, when it was transferred to the imaginatively named New Covent Garden. Billingsgate is a fish market, Smithfield is a meat market and Petticoat Lane specialises in clothing and fashion.