Romanian National Opera, Timișoara

Romanian National Opera
Interior of the Opera House
General information
Town or city	Timișoara
Country	Romania
Construction started	1871
Completed	1875
Design and construction
Architect	Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer (1871), Duiliu Marcu (1923)

The Romanian National Opera, Timișoara (Romanian: Opera Națională Română din Timișoara) is a public opera and ballet institution in Timișoara, Romania. It is one of the national opera companies of Romania. The Opera shares the same building with the Mihai Eminescu National Theatre in Timișoara.

The first performance at the Timișoara Opera was on 27 April 1875, the inaugural concert being Aida by G. Verdi.

On April 20, 1880 the building is devastated by the first fire. The theatre goes bankrupt and it is bought by the authorities, in charge of its recovery. Since investments were insufficient individual funds were needed. The government offered "eternal" property over twenty lodges and the right of inheritance. Later, in agreement with the owners, they are redeemed. The reconstruction, completed in 1882, keeps the original Renaissance style of the façade.

After the second fire, which takes place in 1920, only the lateral wings remain intact. The reconstruction of the building begins on July 15, 1923, by architect Duiliu Marcu.

On December 20, 1989, during the Romanian Revolution, a crowd of 40,000 gathered in the open space in front of the opera house. Some managed to enter the building through the rear, and a succession of figures representing factories and ethnic groups delivered speeches from the balcony. From that point, the revolutionaries controlled the opera and surrounding square, although representatives of the Ceaușescu regime briefly continued to hold the county council building.

Coordinates: 45°45′15″N 21°13′34″E / 45.7543°N 21.2260°E / 45.7543; 21.2260