You need to upgrade your Flash Player
- - Water Puppets Theater (3km/1.8 miles)
- - Hanoi Opera House (4km/2.5 miles)
WATER PUPPET THEATER
Water Puppet Theater in Hanoi offers insightful perspectives into the cultural richness of the country. The origins of the Thang Long Water Puppetry can be traced to over thousand years in the Red River Delta. Water puppetry or Mua Roi Nuoc as it was known in North Vietnam was performed on the rice fields of and surface of ponds of the River Delta. Water has been in abundant supply in North Vietnam. The theater was introduced to celebrate the end of rice harvests, characterize religious festivals and later to entertain the royal court. The art form started with scenes depicting the everyday life of villagers such as farming, fishing, romance and children’s activities. In recent times, the plays showcase scenes from ancient fables, myths, legends and historic ages.
HANOI OPERA HOUSE
Built by the French in 1911, and renovated in the late 1990s, Hanoi Opera House is an old theatre with French architecture and typical Gothic and Mosaic characters reflected on the door domes and the glassed room respectively. The facade is colonial French with pillars and balconies overlooking the city center. The 900-seat opera house plays host to visiting foreign performances as well as Vietnamese symphonies. The exterior is a delightful mix of French neo-classical design with shuttered windows, wrought iron balconies and tiles friezes.
For a long time, Hanoi Opera House has been a rendezvous for those who love theatrical performance and traditional songs and music, symphonies, opera and classical opera. It is also a tourist attraction for local and foreign visitors.