Opera Antwerpen

The Opera Antwerpen is recognized by its heavy, neo-baroque facade, which dominates the intersection of the Frankrijklei. Completed in nineteen oh seven, this building was commissioned as a direct, defiant response to the city’s existing Bourlaschouwburg, a theater that had long served the Francophone elite. Led by the composer Peter Benoit, local nationalists pushed for a dedicated Flemish stage where performances could be held in the Dutch language. Architects Alexis Van Mechelen and Emiel Van Averbeke designed the structure to occupy the site of a former covered market hall, replacing iron and glass with stone and gilded plaster.