At the end of the 19th century, Lviv felt the need for a large city theatre. In 1895, the city announced an architectural competition for the best design, which attracted a large number of projects. An independent jury unhesitatingly chose the design by Zygmunt Gorgolewski, a graduate of the Berlin Building Academy and the Director of the Lwów higher art-industrial school.

The Lviv Opera was opened on October 4, 1900. It was originally called the City Theater (Teatr Miejski) and later the Grand Theatre (Teatr Wielki) until it was renamed in 1939 by the Soviet occupiers for "The Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet".

The building was erected in the classical tradition with using forms and details of Renaissance and Baroque architecture, also known as the Viennese neo-Renaissance style. The stucco mouldings and oil paintings on the walls and ceilings of the multi-tiered auditorium and foyer give it a richly festive appearance. The Opera's imposing facade is opulently decorated with numerous niches, Corinthian columns, pilasters, balustrades, cornices, statues, reliefs and stucco garlands. Standing in niches on either side of the main entrance are allegorical figures representing Comedy and Tragedy sculpted by Antoni Popiel and Tadeusz Baroncz; figures of muses embellish the top of the cornice.