Hungarian State Opera House is considered to be amongst the finest opera houses in the world. The auditorium holds 1,261 people. It is horseshoe-shaped and – according to measurements done in the 1970s by a group of international engineers – has the third best acoustics in Europe after La Scala in Milan and the Palais Garnier in Paris. Although many opera houses have been built since, the Budapest Opera House is still among the best in terms of the acoustics. In front of the building are statues of Ferenc Erkel and Franz Liszt. Liszt is the best known Hungarian composer. Erkel composed the Hungarian
La Scala to follow opera libretti in English and Italian in addition to the original language. The opera house re-opened on 7 December 2004 with a production, conducted by Riccardo Muti, of Salieri's "Europa riconosciuta", the opera performed at La Scala's inauguration in 1778. Tickets for the re-opening fetched up to €2,000. The renovations cost a reported €61 million, and left a budget shortfall that the opera house overcame in 2006. Carlo Fontana, the general manager of La Scala since 1990, was dismissed in February 2005 by the board of governors over differences with the music director, Riccardo Muti. The resulting staff