National Theatre, Prague

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We went to see the opera performance Riggoletto, it was fantastic.
As the opera is in Italian the program is in English as well as the subtitles running on an LCD on the top of the stage (this is fairly common for opera)

We purchased our tickets beforehand online using www.ticketsonline.cz our tickets cost about £29 for best seats including delivery to the hotel. You can purchase tickets at the information

Czech people of all classes dug deep into their pockets to raise funds for the venture refusing money offered by the Habsburg state coffers. The decor is wonderfully ornate & my pics do not do it justice.

Dress Code: We made sure we packed smarter clothes, apparently it is an insult in Czech culture to visit these stunning theatres in Jeans & trainers.

Those people that dress down will definetly feel out of place

The Theatre in Prague is relatively cheap - at least cheaper than in London or NY. And the Theatre itself is nice. Easy to locate - its right along the river.

Dress Code: No dress requirement, but you might as well make it a night out.

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Narodni Divadlo (National Theatre) was built in Neo-Renaissance style 1868 - 81, was damaged by a fire soon after the opening and reopened in 1883. The architect was Josef Zitek; many of the best Czech sculptors and painters contributed to the decoration. Very beautiful building, it dominates the riverfront.

I purchased a ticket for 700 CZK (parquette, last row). The Slovak Opera company was on tour in Prague and performed ARIADNE AUF NAXOS (Richard Strauss), one of my favourite operas from my favourite composer. But - what a disappointment. It was an awful production, most of the soloists did a poor job - except for 'Zerbinetta', her aria was actually quite good - and the orchestra was really, really bad. If there were an intermission in that opera I would have left. Brrrrr.

Dress Code: Dress up! Locals use to see it as an important social event.

The National Theatre is the one of the most important theatre of Prague. It offers a good choice of events. Look on the site for more information about what to see.