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Royal Opera House Bombay – Old Postcard 1915
Old 1915 photo postcard of the Royal Opera House in Bombay, now Mumbai. Built in 1912 in the baroque style, the Royal Opera House was one of the best entertainment places in the golden years of theatre and drama.
Once a jewel in the crown of Bombay’s famous landmarks. Although completed in 1912 King George V inaugurated it a year earlier in 1911. Since the King was in town in 1911 what better chance than a great luminary to inaugurate it although in prior. The King had arrived in Mumbai on the way to attend the Delhi Durbar of December 1911.
Maurice Bandmann and Jehangir Framji raised the funds for the construction of the building. For years the house played drama and other cultural programs including magic shows.
See post- Theatre In British India Mumbai- Old Postcard 1895.
Unfortunately, theater activities would gradually wane in the Opera House giving way to cinema’s mounting popularity. From 1925 onwards in the opera house, more movies were screened than theater. In 1952 the Maharaja of Gondal, Vikramsinhji, bought the Royal Opera House.
Read more- India’s Only Surviving Opera House.
Did you know– playback singer Lata Mangeshkar had her first performance in this Opera House in Mumbai.
From the collection- Raja Ravi Varma’s Portrait Photo – Old Postcard 1904., Antique Print-Plan Of Suratta or Surat c1720., Government House Calcutta – Old Photograph 1890., Vintage Book 1939 – The Handbook of India
The images are of the actual items from my collection. And Not a photocopy, pirated, reproduced, or stock photos or taken from other sources.
