Teatr Wielki - Opera Narodowa

This guide to the Teatr Wielki - Opera Narodowa in Warsaw traces the stone platform above its columns, designed by architect Antonio Corazzi in the 1820s to hold a bronze chariot of Apollo that never arrived when the theater opened in 1833. It follows why the sculpture was dropped after a failed uprising against Russian rule, and how the empty pedestal sat bare through the building's rise as one of Europe's largest opera houses. You'll also hear about its 1833 opening night with Rossini's The Barber of Seville.