Spending time in the rich colours of the foyer, decorated with Italian marbles, allows you to really get in the mood for musical experiences.
The liver-coloured walls and dark grey marble (housing eight marble columns) of the lobby, adorned by Doric and Composite columns and gilded barrel vaults, is reminiscent of the structures of Italian Renaissance palaces. A golden lute can be seen above the main entrance, and relief portraits of Mihály Mosonyi, Ferenc Doppler, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, and Karl Goldmark, all the works of Antal Szécsi, line the medallions above the gates and cashiers. The white marble-framed door opposite the entrance leads to the coat room.
The lobby’s ceiling coffers are decorated with Bertalan Székely’s paintings of the nine muses: Urania, Clio, Calliope, Euterpe, Erato, Thalia, Melpomene, Polyhimnia, and Terpsichore, housed in gilded four and eight-sided frames. The images are dominated by blue, green, and flesh colours. The muses accompany Apollo, who, along with Dionysus, is one of the main figures in the Opera’s paintings. Apollo is portrayed as the symbol of harmony and joy, with Dionysus embodying disharmony, pleasure, and wild frenzy.