Bucharest National Opera House

Bucharest's National Opera House was built in 1953 to provide a permanent home for the city's opera and ballet companies. Designed by a team led by Octav Doicescu, it combines a classical composition with stylised elements of Romanian architecture. Three tall entrance arches lead into a two-storey foyer, while reliefs beside the portico depict opera and ballet. The building opened on 9 January 1954 with Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades conducted by Egizio Massini; the ballet company followed the next day with Delibes's Coppélia. A bronze statue of George Enescu by Ion Jalea stands on the esplanade.