02 · GALLERY
Five frames.
The Hanoi Opera House is the Palais Garnier shrunk to fit a Vietnamese boulevard. French colonial architects in 1911 lifted Charles Garnier's Paris original almost wholesale, and the result, despite the colonial baggage, is one of the most architecturally significant buildings in Southeast Asia. The interior is intact. The cheaper traditional-music programming is far more interesting than the gala tourist nights: Vietnamese National Opera and Ballet, Vietnam National Symphony, traditional-instrument ensembles. Sit close to the front of the upper stalls. The acoustic was a happy colonial accident that still works.
The cheaper traditional-music programming is more frequent and more interesting than the gala tourist gigs. Book through the box office, not an agency.
Indochina heritage entry. The French-colonial counterpart for the Vietnamese subcontinent.
October to April, the dry season. Traditional Vietnamese music and ballet programming runs year-round on Tuesday and Friday evenings; tourist-targeted shows on Saturdays. Avoid the rainy season (June to September).
Box office daily 09:00 to 17:00. Performances most evenings (typically 20:00 start). Closed Tet (Lunar New Year) week.
Old Quarter Hanoi, walk to August Revolution Square. From Hoan Kiem Lake, ten-minute walk south. From Noi Bai airport, 45 minutes by taxi or shuttle. The building dominates the square, impossible to miss.