Municipal Theatre, Ho Chi Minh City

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This beautiful French-colonial building known as Nha Hat Thanh was built in 1899 as a concert hall. It is generally known as the Opera house. The main hall was used as headquarters of the South Vietnam National Assembly in 1956.
Concerts, Theatre productions and Gymnastics are performed here.

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This Municipal Theater is one of the landmarks left by the french in Saigon. this pictures will be on the night views.

This magnificent building was built at the turn of the 20th century as a classical opera house to entertain French colonists. The building was renovated in the 1940s, only to be badly damaged by bombers in 1944. A shelter for refugees after the Geneva Accord split the country at the 17th Parallel in 1954, the building would briefly house the parliament before falling under first private, and ultimately state, hands (after reunification) as an opera house and theater. There have been extensive renovations in recent years. The three-story interior houses some 1,800 seats. Today the Municipal Theater does very little in terms of performances, but it is a stalwart atmospheric holdout amid the rising steel and glass downtown.

To celebrate the 300 years of settlement it has been renovated in the year 1940. It features, a pair of white statues of girls at the gate, chandeliers, bronze statues that are placed at the stairs, a stone veranda, an audience hall that has the capacity to hold 1800 people at a particular time and rows of statues on the two sides of the theater. These features reflect the French style and speaks volumes about the French architecture. To watch a classical concert or a jazz concert, operas, traditional Vietnamese dance and ballets you need to head to this place and it’s open from 8.00 to 10.00 pm. The front space of the theater is utilized by the local youths as they use this space to make arrangements for various kinds of exciting activities.


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4 more images

This Municipal Theater is one of the landmarks left by the french in Saigon. this pictures will be the day views.

This magnificent building was built at the turn of the 20th century as a classical opera house to entertain French colonists. The building was renovated in the 1940s, only to be badly damaged by bombers in 1944. A shelter for refugees after the Geneva Accord split the country at the 17th Parallel in 1954, the building would briefly house the parliament before falling under first private, and ultimately state, hands (after reunification) as an opera house and theater. There have been extensive renovations in recent years. The three-story interior houses some 1,800 seats. Today the Municipal Theater does very little in terms of performances, but it is a stalwart atmospheric holdout amid the rising steel and glass downtown.

To celebrate the 300 years of settlement it has been renovated in the year 1940. It features, a pair of white statues of girls at the gate, chandeliers, bronze statues that are placed at the stairs, a stone veranda, an audience hall that has the capacity to hold 1800 people at a particular time and rows of statues on the two sides of the theater. These features reflect the French style and speaks volumes about the French architecture. To watch a classical concert or a jazz concert, operas, traditional Vietnamese dance and ballets you need to head to this place and it’s open from 8.00 to 10.00 pm. The front space of the theater is utilized by the local youths as they use this space to make arrangements for various kinds of exciting activities.

I have no idea behind the history of this place. Someone told me that it was enroute to somewhere I wanted to go and so I stopped by and visited it. I bet other VT members should be able to give you a better understanding.

The theatre is a standout on the Town Square opposite the Continental Hotel and we would have walked past it a dozen times. Having High Tea at the Caravelle Hotel we looked through the lounge window and saw the side of this significant building.

We tried to get entry but it was closed. I have since learnt that each weekk it has a different programme such as Classical Music, Vietnamese Traditional Theatre, or perhaps gymnastics in the evening at 8pm.

Another beautiful building built during the French occupation in the turn of the 20th century. As the name suggests, the Saigon Opera House held operas & concerts to entertain French colonists at the time. However, in the middle of the 20th century, the building was damaged by bombers during the war.

Soon, the use of the building shifted from entertainment to housing refugees and then the parliament. Finally, the Municipal Theater came to be after the reunification and extensive renovations in recent years. Today, it holds several operas, classical recitals, pop concerts and dance.

The Municipal Theater, or Opera House, is a very impressive structure near the Hotel de Ville. At night, its massive white walls and domed roof are well lit, and the building makes for an excellent photo.

Just two blocks away is an area full of restaurants along Thi Sach.

Another fine example of 19th century French Colonial architecture, the once Saigon Opera House, has now been blandly renamed the Municipal Theater. Much befitting this name change, the venue now showcases popular music acts as well as Vietnamese theatrical productions. There is generally some kind of show at 8 PM or if staying in the snooty area, ask your concierge.

One of the nicest things that the French left behind is their design for theatre houses. This one was completed in 1900. In the 1950s, the theatre was used as the headquarters of the lower House of government. This resulted with the alteration of its architecture and look. The Municipal Theatre was later restored to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the founding of Saigon (1698-1998).

The theatre puts on traditional Vietnamese theatre, chamber music, symphonies, orchestra concerts, as well as other events. Often you can catch an outdoor concent by a military orchestra on Sundays. Youth activities are also often performed in front of the theatre.

This lovely theatre, often referred to as the ‘Opera House’ has a stone veranda, a pair of white stone statues of pretty girls at the gate, colorful granite tiled floors, pretty chandeliers, some bronze statues in front of the stairs, an audience hall with an arch engraved with decorative designs and rows of statues on the two sides of the theatre. All this design was aimed to bring a feeling of French style to the French and pro-French Vietnamese people under the period of French domination in the South of Vietnam in the early 20th century. Built beginning in 1897, the Municipal Theatre was later restored to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the founding of Saigon (1698-1998).

For a time, in the 1950s, the Theatre was used as the headquarters of the lower House of government with the result of dramatically altering its architecture and look. Happily, the restoration brought back its original appearance.

You will find significant after-dark activities in the area due to the hotels and good restaurants nearby.