This really is a most marvelous place. And, in spite of its opulence, a very affordable place to spend the evening. Tickets start (for standing room admission) at about $10. While our seats in the orchestra near the front were more, they were still only about 1/10 the price you'd pay at the Royal Opera House in London or the Met in New York.
The orchestra pit is pretty large and very little of it sits under the overhanging stage. This both fills the space with music and moves the audience back from the stage a bit more than in some other venues.
On this particular evening, this was a mixed blessing. The orchestra often overwhelmed the singers in this performance of "The Girl of the Golden West" (Puccini). There is some much to say about this performance that I'll save it for sometime when we can sit and talk about it (assuming you are actually interested). I'll just say that this performance was not one of our favorites. However, another opera we attended,"The Masked Ball" (Verdi), was much more to our taste. This opera company is capable of excellent work.
The lobby by the entrance of the opera house is very church-like in its appearance with columns and arches abounding.
The barrel vault over the main portion of the lobby displays another extravagant usage of gold.
A really remarkable place to visit.
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