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Romania

Opera And Theatre


National Theatre
A building in two parts, the original National Theatre was built between 1967 and 1970, to the design of three Romanian architects, Horia Maicu, Romeo Belea and Nicolae Cucu. Originally styled to honor the architecture of Moldova's famous monasteries, it was unfortunately ruined in 1984-5 when the concrete casing that now stands gloomily in the shadow of the Inter Continental was placed over the earlier structure.

Romanian Athenaeum
Possibly the finest building in the city, the Romanian Athenaeum, with its sublime baroque cupola, stands proudly at the flux of the city's busiest public square, competing with the Athenee Palace Hilton hotel, the Royal Palace and the old national library for attention. The work of French architect Albert Galleron, who also designed the National Bank of Romania, the building was inaugurated on February 26, 1888, and was built almost entirely with money donated by ordinary citizens of the capital, when a campaign called 'Give a penny for the Athenaeum' rescued the project from folly after the original patrons ran out of funds. Today the seat of the Romanian Philharmonic George Enescu, the auditorium can seat 1,000 spectators comfortably, and is renowned worldwide for its outstanding acoustics.