The Erkel Theatre in Budapest was designed by Dezső Jakab, Marcell Komor and Géza Márkus. It was completed in nine months and inaugurated on December 7, 1911 as the People's Opera, or Népopera. The design is simple except for a large mural by Bertalan Pór. The stage is about 46 feet (14 meters) wide and 28 feet (8.5 meters) tall, and the auditorium is about 131 by 33 feet (40 by 10 meters).
It shut down in 1915 after the First World War began. Gábor Faludi modernized it in 1917 and renamed it the City Theatre, and it was renamed the Erkel Theatre in 1953. It operated as a city art center from 1940 to 1945 and as a cinema from 1946 to 1948.
It was a secondary venue for the Hungarian State Opera House from 1951. After renovation from 2007 to 2013, it now seats 1,819, and since September 2025 it has been a standalone musical theatre.
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