A Fluid Identity of Saigon Opera House

Figure 7: Saigon Opera House from 1975 till 1998, here in 1991

After the Fall of Saigon in 1975 and the building of modern Vietnam, the edifice was returned to its original function as a theater, but not (yet) to its original design.

Figure 9. Beaux-Arts mural on the Opera House’s arch 

Hold on a bit, and let us take a closer look. The style of Art Nouveau is also expressed through the mural on the arch of Saigon Opera House, with some of its decorations typical of this style drawing upon patterns of organic, elegant designs, such as curving forms of lilies, flower stems, blossoms of plants, and other natural forms. Notably, the mural features five figures representative of France and four seasons, namely, France, Printemps, Été, Automne, and Hiver (Tản Mạn Kiến Trúc 2021).

What’s more, it can be argued that the overall decoration intention was somehow influenced by Beaux-Arts style as well, whose emphasis is on architecture parlante, or “speaking architecture”. This involves viewers in a dialogue to communicate with them its own functions, resonating with the way how the decorative elements of Saigon Opera House were initially placed. To be more specific, most of the ornaments with certain symbolic motifs are linked to the building’s purpose, that is, of being a theater. Take the Caryatids and the façade reliefs as an example. Half-naked sculptures, the reliefs of masks or figures representative of Comedy and Tragedy—all provoke exotic feelings, along with the theatrical theme and emotions.

Whatever architectural styles Saigon Opera House has featured throughout the country’s history, it always stood bold in appearance. The differing look it put on over different times varied depending on its functionality. Taken this way, it can shed light on the spirit of the times inherent in the splendors of the edifice. And such an examination of architectural elements and styles across different times highlights that the contemporary art movements had a bearing on the architecture at that time, and that the legacy of such colonial arts still lives on.

Viewed from the Past to the Present: An Iconic House of Culture and Politics

A look at what the edifice used to serve as can reveal the political and cultural values it held.

Early-1900s: Struggling to survive as the Opera House

What Saigon Opera House has embodied is the reception not only of French colonial art and architecture, but also of French and Vietnamese theater culture—through reputable theatrical performances delivered by actor troupes within Vietnam and Europe.

At its start, Saigon Opera House received a substantial subsidy on an annual basis in order to organize the performance of “opera, comic opera, operetta and comedy by visiting French theatré companies” (Doling 2015, §16)—with the purpose of entertaining French soldiers. Encountering a great difficulty in maintaining its operations, it lost its popularity after the late 1920s. The reason was a growing competition from other places of entertainment doubled with an economic downturn. Over the later French colonial period, it was only reserved for amateur events and gala performances on some occasions (Doling 2015).

During mid-1900s: Transformation from Opera House into Cultural House and Lower House

Saigon Opera House was of historic significance in that it was once a witness to French colonial presence and thus specific aspects of the Vietnam War. Specifically, not until the 1954 Geneva Agreement was the theater used to house homeless migrants from the North, then totally transformed into the National Assembly of the Republic of Vietnam. It became the Cultural House in 1964 and then the Lower House (Hạ Nghị viện) in 1967 after the respective governments had decided to transform it into a bicameral parliament.

During 1975–1998, and onwards: Decolonization and Depoliticization. Success or failure? 

The theater was reopened in 1979. Following a complete refurbishment with French assistance during 1995–1998 on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of Saigon, many of its original architectural features were reinstated (Doling 2015). The second major renovation project took place, aiming to restore the Ardoise roof tile, to repaint the façade, and to remake the roof windows (Tản Mạn Kiến Trúc 2019).

It is obvious that the new Socialist government’s reinstatement of the edifice as an Opera House, after the Fall of Saigon in 1975, attempted to render the building apolitical, freeing it from being associated with the old Republican counterpart. In other words, such a decision was to depoliticize the building. In addition, as far as the narrative of the post-colonial period of Saigon is concerned, the functional and decorative restoration projects can be regarded as part of the government’s aim to leave the mark of colonialism off the building, that means, to decolonize it.

However, such an effort has failed to some degree – in a way that “the representation and reception of Saigon Opera House building remains political”, given the remnants of colonialism inherent in the current activities and performances on offer. To recapitulate, Saigon Opera House was, and has been, significant not solely as a physical entity at the heart of the city, but also as a testimony to momentous milestones in the country’s history, and to the influence of French theater culture.

Let us start with the sculptures on top of the roof. Several changes have taken place, regarding the posture of the two women, and the detailed carvings of the cartouche. The rebuilt sculptures have also been facing criticism over its lack of sophistication and elegance, especially in the flexibility of the two women's posture—as well as the design of the lyre guitar.

In the old-days version, the cartouche had two letters “RF” (Republique Française / French Republic) carved onto it. The removal of it in the restored version can be explained by the effort to dissociate it from what ownership the building was once telling. Besides, you can easily notice that the head of Pan (the god of country music) below the sculpture is no longer featuring an aggressive facial expression as he used to have.

Similar are the other heads on the façade. Apparently, they are now expressing their feelings in a much less dramatic way. One may wonder whether this does align with the intent of promoting a theatrical theme through architecture and sculpture.

The original idea was that the mask reliefs embodied Thalia and Melpomene, the Muses of Comedy and Tragedy (Tản Mạn Kiến Trúc 2019). After the modification and restoration, the reliefs no longer look like masks; they rather seem to characterize real human faces. Also, the reliefs in the oval frame used to emblazon a Muse rather than a lyre guitar as now in the restored version (ibid.).

Unfortunately, the original Caryatids (left)—highlights and view-catching flanks of the entrance—did not remain intact whatsoever: they have been replaced with different ones. The change is visible if you compare the two versions then and now.

The restored version of the Caryatids (right) can be considered to be in a wrong standing posture, with falsely modified body proportions. The original iron-made door (left) behind the Caryatids was once set on a par with them but has now been replaced by modern glass doors. Besides, a pair of lamp posts right above the Caryatids on the balcony of the first floor has not been reinstated.

Four small-winged figures that rather look like angels than classical representations of Victories on the right and left corners of the roof have not been reinstated. A black symbolic sculpture is now in place of the original, completely depriving its initial intention.

Below the front window, a carved festoon (right) is now in place of a ribbon (left). The feeling each creates is different: the ribbon is seemingly more slender than the festoon.

Up to this point, take a pause to recall the definition of authentcity we borrowed from Merriam-Webster (2022) earlier. We can see most of the key decorative features of Saigon Opera House’s façade were reproduced during the restoration projects but not in the same way as the original version, which has inevitably resulted in the loss of its architectural authenticity. Overall, the discovery of distinguishing architectural elements on the façade—in both original and restored versions—reveals that the essence of architectural elements have been reinstated and re-presented, yet has not remained. 

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Beyond an Opera House...

The investigation into Saigon Opera House’s architecture, functionality, and authenticity with the passage of history has yielded good returns: a number of fascinating stories about its role in the country’s history, along with traces of French colonial arts and architecture. More than a place of entertainment, Saigon Opera House has been, and is, a symbolic building of classical French architecture, then Vietnam’s politics, and, of course, modern-day Vietnamese culture.

On a final note, we shall reflect on what Saigon Opera House has still retained, and what has been lost. For the former, it is the legacy of French colonial art movements (i.e., Neo-Baroque, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, and Beaux-Art) that leaves its remnants on today’s architecture, especially on the façade. For the latter, the removal and the restoration projects have put the ingen. uity of Saigon Opera House’s original architecture at risk. Almost all the restored ornaments have lost their elegance and precision compared to the original counterparts. Next time, when you tour to Saigon Opera House in person, you now can acknowledge what Saigon Opera House has been through, and view the beauty it has to offer with the most critical lens on.

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References

Doling, Tim. 2015. “Old Saigon Building of the Week – Saigon Municipal Theatre, 1900." HISTORIC VIỆT NAM. Last modified March 16, 2015 (29 May 2022). 

Duong, Kieu. 2019. “Enduring Majesty: Saigon’s Iconic Buildings and Locales, Then and Now.” VnExpress. Last modified October 13, 2019 (29 May 2022).

Nguyen, Thanh. 2017. “Century-old Buildings that Stand Proud for Saigon.” VnExpress. Last modified March 5, 2017 (29 May 2022).

Tản Mạn Kiến Trúc. 2019. “Opera House Saigon – Part 1: The Beauty Buried through Time.” Last modified May 31, 2019 (29 May 2022).

Tản Mạn Kiến Trúc. 2019. “Opera House Saigon – Part 2: Restored to Origin as Present...Correct or Wrong?” Last modified June 1, 2019 (29 May 2022).

Tản Mạn Kiến Trúc. 2021. “A Story about the Only Intact Art Nouveau Mural in the Saigon’s Opera House.” Last modified August 5, 2021 (29 May 2022).