Saigon Opera House

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Standing magnificently at the heart of Ho Chi Minh City is the Saigon Opera House, which is also known as the Municipal Theater. The building stands as one of the impressive sight in Saigon – both night and day.

Saigon Opera House was built in 1898 by the French architect – Eugene Ferret, following the “flamboyant” style of the French Third Republic. It was set to be two meters higher than the street surface with two door layers, in order to prevent traffic noise.

Built in parallel structure, the Opera House is located on the city’s center axis, connecting the metro station and roundabout in front of Ben Thanh market. From a distance, the Opera House looks like a beautiful gigantic city gate. The architecture boasts stone-carved ornaments and statues at the entrance, crystal chandeliers, and shiny granite floor at the lobby area – all built with materials imported from France. The graceful oval auditorium offers 468 seats, designed to magnify performances in both audio and visual, echo-free, and also soundproof from the outside city buzz.

The theatre is now a venue for many high profile events and cultural – entertainment activities of the city. Certified as a national relic in 2012, this magnificent building stays on top of the must-visit of Ho Chi Minh City.

Interesting facts and figures

  • The Opera House was built in 1898 and carried out 3,200 square meters in total areas.
  • The theater was set to be two meters higher than the street surface with two door layers in order to prevent traffic noise.
  • The oval auditorium with 468 seats offers good view from every seat. It is also echo-free and therefore preserves all the sound inside the theatre.
  • The major renovation, which cost USD 1.7 million at the time, took 2 years from 1996 to 1998 to finish.

Significant historical events

  • January 17th, 1900: The first show of the Opera House was performed by French actors and actresses.
  • November 18th, 1918: The first time Vietnamese organized a performance at the Opera House, which is a play mixed with Cai Luong, a theatrical genre from Southern Vietnam, often known as Vietnamese Opera.
  • 1945 – 1955: The Opera House was closed during World War II and reopened in 1955 – after the Geneva Convention (1954), and became the Southern Vietnam’s Assembly House.
  • May, 1975: it is officially named the city’s opera house.
  • 1996: Saigon Opera House is closed for renovation.
  • December 18th, 1998: Inauguration ceremony of Saigon Opera House after 2 years renovation. The event marked 300th anniversary of Ho Chi Minh City.
  • 2012: The Opera House is certified a National Relic.
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SHOWS AT Saigon Opera House

A O SHOW
A O SHOW

A O SHOW

The name ‘A O’ derives from ‘Lang Pho’, which means ‘village and city’. The show depicts the charming beauty and cultural richness of Vietnamese life in the countryside, in contrast with the nation’s racing urbanization. The show is a unique mix of bamboo circus, acrobatic acts, dance, and theatrical visual art. The live music echoes Vietnamese Southern work songs. All in all, this beautiful blend of genres creates a unique stage language, which well captures the essence of Vietnam’s fascinating culture.

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Reviews

A O Show - Lune Production

This universal Form of art is an overwhelming display of the essence of Vietnam's culture. From the begining in natural atmosphere to the noisy urban-motorcycling. Beautyful poetic and HiPro Performance.

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leafline

Must see show at opera house

Go and see the amazing ao show at the opera house in hochi min city. Great venue and amazing show. Lets you in on some Vietnamese traditions with fantastic music and acrobatics. Not to be missed.

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leafline

A bit uneven, but the moments of magic alone made it worthwhile

It was a decidedly uneven performance: some moments of pure magic and at a very high level artistically, but also some numbers that are not quite so successful. Sometimes considered a Vietnamese version of the Cirque de Soleil, the troupe is not quite there ...

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leafline

Teh Dar - 1h well spent!

This was not in my plan but came as a pleasant surprise. The staff were super nice to offer me the chance to sit in several seats to get a sense of the stage view before buying the ticket. The show itself was great- you ...

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leafline

Beautiful!

The show was absolutely stunning! I loved every minute and hope it will have great success in the years to come. It would also make me really happy, if luna shows can come to Europe one day, I am sure many people there will love it as much as I did!

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leafline

Amazing Show - Great Talent

Love this show, a must see!! Excellent talent on stage. I would highly recommend seeing this show to all that visit Saigon/HCMC. beautifully put together and executed on stage!!

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leafline

Amazing show

Dont let the fact its held in the Saigon Opera House put you off. This show is utterley brilliant . Roughly 20 talented young people give an insight into life in Vietnam using music,mime and acrobatics. The show moves very quickly from action to action. Som ...

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leafline

AOSome!

AOsome show! We'd love to come back and watch it again with my family!

It showed great substance in terms of VN culture from before until today.

Would recommend it! :)

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leafline

Super A

This show was beyond our expectation. I did recommend to see this show if anyone need activity in the evening. Opera House is beautiful place to take a picture with great show. Surrounding areas are with good places to have dinner and brandname shopping.

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leafline

Fantastic Show!

My husband and I saw the show while staying in Saigon. It was an inventive and very entertaining show. It focuses on the life of people of Vietnam and uses bamboo baskets in a variety of interesting ways. The acrobats are ...

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leafline

Simply Stunning

A stylistic blend of traditional and modern Vietnamese culture, this show is a MUST SEE. The young performers deliver a dramatic show full of art and athleticism but do so in such a charming and at times very poignant fash ...

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leafline

Fantastic Show!

My husband and I saw the show while staying in Saigon. It was an inventive and very entertaining show. It focuses on the life of people of Vietnam and uses bamboo baskets in a variety of interesting ways. The acrobats are extremely talented and the show is ver ...

Read more

trip
leafline

Simply Stunning

A stylistic blend of traditional and modern Vietnamese culture, this show is a MUST SEE. The young performers deliver a dramatic show full of art and athleticism but do so in such a charming and at times very poignant fashion. This was better than a recent Cir ...

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leafline

Artistically stunning and evocative

This was my first time in Ho Chi Minh Opera House. The sense of history is palpable. This small theatre is perfect for enjoying the performance. The skill and empathetic relationship to the story among the performers was infectious. The use of the props was im ...

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leafline

Vietnam's answer to Cirque de soleil

A great cultural experience! I can't believe wait these young artists/athletes can do with just bamboo poles and baskets. There were such a variety of elements to the show: dance, acrobatics, storytelling through song and more. Our 11 and 13 year old boys also ...

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leafline

A wonderful cultural experience!

So pleased we managed to see this wonderful show during our stay in Saigon, which also included a tour of the beautiful Opera house. It was the highlight of our brief visit. Such energy and artistry. Some of the routines did indeed make you gasp! Imaginative, ...

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leafline

Unique, high energy performance

We really enjoyed this dance/acrobatic troupe with fast paced and intriguing performances that cleverly incorporated Vietnamese farm "tools" into the mix. Support the local arts! You won't be disappointed.

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leafline

Fantastic show

Really great show with wonderful dance, acrobatics, inventive set, great music and amazing athletes.

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leafline

Mouth open the whole time

This show was incredible, The physical acts were impressive, the story was timeless and interesting even with only a few native words being spoken the whole time. The modern blend of choreography taking its roots from tribal dancing took me by surprise for its ...

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leafline

Fall in love with Vietnamese culture with this show

I saw a similar show in Hanoi and I was so amazed with how enthusiastic that show was that I couldn't reject the temptation of seeing another one and it was just better. If you are visiting Vietnam regardless of propose of your visit you have to see this show ...

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leafline

A brilliant and moving show

We loved this show. It is physical theatre with wonderful skills displayed by the performers, using bamboo poles and huge woven baskets, but it is not just a circus (unlike Cirque du Soleil, which for all its hype is really just a series of routines). It tells ...

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leafline

AO in Saigon

Amazing! One of the best things we did in Saigon. The show was so full of energy and vitality. Incredible talent! We just loved it. And the production was very clever in tapping into Vietnamese culture both past and present. Would highly recommend. And go to P ...

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leafline

Another amazing view of Vietnam

The show was truly amazing and out of my imagination. A very different way to overview such a amazing lifestyle in Vietnam.

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leafline

We loved the show!

This is a must see if you are visiting Saigon.

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leafline

A O Show - Brilliant Depiction of Vietnamese life

This was an excellent show that depicts Vietnamese life in a most original way. If we had 1 more night in HCMC, we would definitely have seen the show again. It came highly recommended by my niece who had watched the show earlier this year (2016). We would hig ...

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leafline

AO SHOW

An all musical production depicting Saigon through the eyes of the youth. A creditable performance by all the young performers

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leafline

Audience participation!

What a great show. We were a bit concerned our 10 & 8 year olds may not like the show being less acrobatic than the AO show but they loved it. My 8 year old was captivated from start to finish exclaiming it was the best thing he had ever seen. The performers g ...

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leafline

A must watch

Awesome performance. Worth every penny spent. Do get ur tickets earlier as they ran out fast. And try to be there early for a quick tour.

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leafline