The construction of the "Palace of Culture", the building that hosts, besides the National Opera House, three other cultural institutions: National Theatre, Hungarian and German Theatre, began in 1871, after the plans of the most famous Viennese architects duo: Hermann Helmer and Ferdinand Fellner, builders of the 48 theaters and opera houses in Europe, from Hamburg to Odessa from Szeged to Zurich, from Budapest to Prague, from Vienna to Sofia and Iasi, being completed in 1875. In its first form, the building housed a big auditorium with 1.200 seats, centrally placed (current auditorium of the Opera House, stage, warehouses, administrative annexes, artists booths), the elegant hotel "Kronprinz Rudolf" with restaurants and cafes, a concerts ballroom called "Reduta" and symmetrically elegant shops.
Two major fires have ravaged the building. The first took place in 1880 and the reconstruction lasted until 1882, keeping the original form of the whole building, built in eclectic style. After the second fire on 1920, only the wings of the building remained unaffected. The reconstruction is made after the plans of an important Romanian architect Duiliu Marcu, maintaining the original style only on the sides of the facades, the main facade and the auditorium acquired a different style: the Romanian Byzantine (neo-byzantine style) architecture characteristic of the time. Since then, the hall has 686 seats grouped on 4 floors (ground floor, lodge, balcony and gallery).
The scene is designed as a classic Italian scene, partially with rods operated manually and a small pit orchestra, on each side, artists booths and decor stores being positioned.
Theodore Kiriacoff painted the frescoes of the dome and the images are inspired by the history and fairytales of the Romanians, being completed in 1926. The central chandelier, beautiful ornate, weighs 1.200 kg and was equipped from 1888 (the year of electrification of the entire building) with over 200 bulbs.