Hungarian State Opera HouseCredit:Getty Images
At the top of the grand red-carpeted staircase that connects the ground and first floors of the Hungarian State Opera House,an ornate,framed mirror has witnessed the comings and goings of Budapest's high society for more than 135 years. Reaching almost to the high,domed ceiling,it's vast and weighty,though it is said to have the opposite illusory effect on those who peer into it and back at themselves.
Queen Sisi of Hungary,a regular opera-goer in the 1880s,reportedly loved swanning past the mirror on her way into the theatre,for one very relatable reason:She believed it made her look thinner.
I ask our tour guide Istvan if it really has that effect."You be the judge,"he says.
The ornate staircase inside the Hungarian State Opera House.
"After a week of cruising? Forget it,"says one of my fellow passengers,an attractive Texan woman.
We've reached Budapest after eight nights aboard the Avalon Illumination,cruising on Avalon Waterways'Black Sea to Budapest voyage. The visit to the opera house is first stop on an optional shore excursion to three of the city's Belle Époque Art and Architecture gems. Closed to the public until 2021 for an extensive restoration,it's only possible to sneak a peek inside the neo-Renaissance masterpiece building on organised tours.
Designed by architect Miklós Ybl,the opera house was unveiled in 1884 at the height of Europe's giddy Belle Époque. Legend has it that Emperor Franz Josef I was upset on opening night because the building's beauty overshadowed that of his beloved opera house in Vienna.
When the famed company is in season,tickets can be bought for less than $10. The stage can't really be seen from those seats,but the music can be heard,making them a favourite with students. The most expensive box seats go for around $125,a steal according to one passenger from the Hunter Valley,who pointed out she paid more than that for tickets toMuriel's Wedding,the musical.
Budapest in the final decade-and-a-half of the 19th Century was a gilded wonderland of opulence and prosperity. Long before the devastation that would be wreaked by two world wars,a global financial crisis and an oppressive socialist regime,the city optimistically flourished in every way.