For more than a century, the Hanoi Opera House has stood as one of Vietnam’s most enduring cultural landmarks — a symbol of the capital’s artistic life, architectural heritage, and civic memory. Now, as the historic theatre prepares to close for around two years of renovation, visitors have a rare chance to step inside its past through a high-tech, immersive exhibition running until December 31, 2025.
After December 31, the Hanoi Opera House will temporarily close for a comprehensive refurbishment, expected to begin in early 2026 and last approximately two years. The renovation aims to upgrade stage technology, seating, and infrastructure while preserving the building’s historic architectural identity.
City authorities describe the closure as a necessary step to ensure the Opera House remains a functioning cultural centre for future generations, even as the structure shows signs of age.
Titled “115 Years of the Opera House Tells Its Story – Heritage Speaks Through Light and Technology,” the exhibition turns the Opera House into its own stage. Using 3D mapping projection, holograms, augmented reality (AR), motion graphics, immersive sound, and layered storytelling, the building itself becomes a time machine tracing its 115-year journey.
Visitors are not limited to static panels or archival images. History unfolds around them, allowing audiences to move through space as narratives of architecture, performance, and city life emerge in light and sound.
Inside, the experience is structured into four interconnected chapters, beginning with the Opera House’s inauguration in 1911 and moving through colonial Hanoi, wartime periods, and decades of artistic performance in opera, drama, and musical theatre. The final chapter, “The Artistic Heart,” shifts into a futuristic audio-visual composition, where architectural lines dissolve into light and rhythm, symbolising the venue’s enduring creative spirit.
For 115 years, the Hanoi Opera House has stood at the heart of the capital. Built between 1901 and 1911 by French architects and inspired by the Palais Garnier in Paris, the theatre is a landmark of neo-classical design, defined by its ornate columns, grand façade, and distinctly European architectural language transplanted into Southeast Asia.
Spanning more than 2,600 square meters, the building houses a main auditorium with around 600 seats — once the largest performance space in colonial Indochina. Over the decades, it has hosted countless historic moments, from major national celebrations to the first Vietnamese opera in 1960, and welcomed generations of artists, from classical musicians to contemporary performers.
For many Hanoians, the Opera House is more than a performance venue. It is a living archive of the city’s layered history — from French colonial architecture to its role as a gathering place during periods of war, recovery, and cultural transformation. That legacy is precisely what this final exhibition seeks to capture, before the building enters its next chapter.
About the exhibitionDates: Now through December 31, 2025 (last chance before closure for renovation starting early 2026)Show Times:• 10:00 AM• 2:00 PM• 4:00 PM• 8:00 PM(Each session lasts ~90 minutes)Ticket Prices:• Day tour: 480,000 VND• Night tour: 600,000 VNDLocation:Hanoi Opera House, French Quarter, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà NộiHow to Get Tickets:• Online booking through the Opera House or official partner ticketing sites• On-site ticket counter (subject to availability)