State Opera House

When I went to meetings to learn more about Prague before applying to study abroad there I was told going to the Opera was cheap. So I packed for the opera in mind. I spoke with my teachers and classmates and they suggested Aida. Two classmates said they’d come with.  My friends ordered their tickets online since they were staying at Hotel Clement. I tried to order my tickets online but with the Hostel internet it didn’t go all that well. So I decided to get tickets at the opera the day of the show. I went to Vyšehrad earlier in the day with my class and left early to get ready, through time issues we all managed to get there right when the opera began. Since my friends hadn’t planned to go to the opera they dressed up the best they could. When we arrived I asked if I could buy a ticket while my friends picked up theirs.

A guy who spoke English went to get a manager because the show was starting. I was told I couldn’t buy a ticket and the woman he had gone to go get looked us up and down and said we were not dressed for the opera. She was rude and so one of my friends gave me his ticket and left. We were told, since the show had just started, we couldn’t go in to our seats, so we’d have to sit in the balcony but they would remove us during the intermission. Because the woman at the beginning had been so rude to us we didn’t really enjoy Aida that much. Neither of us had been to the opera before we didn’t understand when intermission was, but when the show seemed to be over, we took photos and followed everyone out to the balcony. People were drinking champagne and eating and we left. After we left and went out to dinner I flipped through the Aida booklet and realized that we had left at intermission. There had been an earlier shorter break that we assumed had been intermission.

Suggestions for going to the Opera in Prague:

• get some nice clothes or “opera” clothes.
• order your tickets ahead of time, online (find a place with good wifi) or find another way
• arrive early, at least a half hour
• Try and figure out how long the show is so you don’t accidentally leave early

Because I haven’t been the opera anywhere else I’m unsure whether or not this was normal behavior, but it did ruin my experience. Though my friend and I had fun afterwards, taking photos by a nearby fountain and in the theater.

The State Opera House in Prague is located at Wilsonova 4, 110 00 Praha 1.