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
Philadelphia La Scala Opera Company the 1925-1926 season including Gaetano Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" (with Rosalinda Rudko-Morini in the title role, Giuseppe Reschiglian as Edgardo, and Emanuel Nugnez as Enrico), Giuseppe Verdi's "Aida" (with Alice Eversman in the title role and Bernardo de Muro as Radames), Verdi's "Rigoletto", "Cavalleria rusticana" (with Emilia Vergeri as Santuzza), and "Pagliacci" (with Nicola Zerola as Canio) among others. After its first season, Francesco Pelosi was appointed General Manager and Artistic Director of the company in 1926. For the second season the company was renamed the Philadelphia La Scala Grand Opera Company which it performed under until 1938 when the