The Estates Theatre, a splendid Neo-Classical gem built in 1783, was the work of the court architect, Antonin Haffenker. It received its appellation in 1797, when some of Prague’s powerful German nobles bought up several of the theatre loges, bequeathing them to their family estates. The gorgeous interior may look familiar to movie buffs; the Czech-born film director, Miloš Forman, used the theatre for his Oscar winning film, Amadeus. A fitting choice, as it was here, in 1787, that the great Viennese composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, conducted the premier of his opera, Don Giovanni. Mozart’s operas have remained the basis of the Estates Theatre repertoire to this day.