Odessa National Opera and Ballet Theater
The building of the Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater is considered one of the great architectural monuments of Ukraine and one of the most beautiful theaters in the world. The opera is a real gem of Odessa, worthy to be included in the list of the Seven Wonders of Ukraine.
History
Opera is practically the same age as Odessa. A dozen years after the founding of the city, the famous mayor de Richelieu thought about building the first cultural institution. The logic of the legendary Duke was simple: “the theater greatly influences the attraction of residents, and the multiplication of residents is the benefit of the city.”
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The building of the first theater was built in 1804-1810 (architects F. Frapolli and Tom de Thomon) in the classical style. The first performances seen by the audience were Frelich’s opera “The New Family” and the vaudeville “The Consoled Widow”. One and a half thousand people could see the performances simultaneously: 800 seats were located in boxes on three tiers and in the parterre, in addition, the parterre area was designed for 700 standing seats. It should be noted that at that time Odessa itself was only twenty years old!
. The Odessa Opera quickly became the cultural center of Ukraine. To correct flaws in the layout, the structure was repeatedly strengthened and rebuilt. The last grandiose redesign was completed on December 31, 1872, and the next night the theater burned down. The cause was a gas leak, which was used to light the clock above the entrance..
For Odessa residents, this event was a real blow. The idea of building a new opera had been in the air for a long time and did not find realization: the city authorities received about 40 projects for the building of a new theater, but none of them was approved. Then the municipality turned to the Viennese architects W. Felner and G. Gelner, who designed theaters throughout Europe. The construction according to their project lasted from 1884 to 1887. The structure was illuminated by electric bulbs – it was the first electric lighting in Odessa! Not only that, the theater was equipped with the first steam heating in the country.
.At the beginning of the XX century the theater was called the City Theater. Famous opera singers, as well as imperial and royal troupes from different cities performed on its stages.
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In 1926, the title of “academic” was conferred. It did not stop its work and in the Great Patriotic War, raising the morale of civilians. The building was covered with camouflage netting so that it would not be seen from the air. At the end of the war, the Germans planned to blow it up, and only the Soviet offensive saved it from this fate. It was on the balcony of the opera house on April 10, 1944 that the USSR banner was raised, symbolizing the liberation of Odessa from the German invaders.
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In 1967, the opera house underwent its first restoration, which did not bring the expected results. Due to miscalculations in the layout of the foundation, the structure, built on sedimentary rocks, “sagged”. As a result, another restoration was needed. On the day of its opening, the theater received the status of the National Theater.
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Nowadays its repertoire includes about 50 productions, pop and symphonic concerts are held here (there is a built-in organ on the stage), a children’s ballet school works.
.What to see
The Odessa Opera House is famous first of all for its architecture, and its layout and technical data are not inferior to the best in Europe. The building itself is executed in the Viennese “baroque” style, which was the main one in European art from the end of the 16th to the middle of the 18th century. Above the facade is a sculptural group depicting one of the muses – the patroness of art Melpomene. She sits in a chariot drawn by four furious panthers. Downstairs, near the central entrance, two sculptural groups representing Comedy and Tragedy are mounted on high pedestals: on the left, a fragment of Euripides’ tragedy Hippolytus, and on the right, an episode from Aristophanes’ comedy The Birds. All along the pediment of the building one can see busts of the genius creators of Russian literature and art: Pushkin, Glinka, Griboyedov, Gogol, who seem to personify poetry, music, drama, and comedy.
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But the most beautiful part of the building is the auditorium. The hall, as well as the interior of the Theater, corresponds to the slogan: “Golden form – golden content.”
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It is executed in the style of Louis 16 – “Rococo”. Everything inside is created in harmony with each other: domes, columns, arches, sculptures, bas-reliefs, candles and candlesticks, a lot of gilding, very beautifully combined with white, beige and warm cream color of walls and ceilings. On the ceilings are painted scenes from the famous works of Shakespeare. And a huge luxurious crystal chandelier weighing about 2 and a half tons towers above everything. Seats and boxes are upholstered in dark red velvet, mirrors in gilded figurative frames. Combined with beautiful music, it is a delight!
.Lower floor, parterre and boxes benoir, foyer in the form of a wide, going semicircular corridor, in front of the boxes benoir, ornate staircases.
.The main motif of the ornament is a shell in the form of curls of various shapes. The pattern of the ornament is not repeated anywhere.
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“The auditorium amazes unprecedented in Odessa luxury and beauty of finishing boxes. In the whole hall from the bottom to the ceiling inclusive prevail velvet, satin, gilding. With the magnificent lighting all this glitters, burns, shines” – wrote “Novorossiyskiy Telegraph”.
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In fact, to illuminate the theater was built AC power plant, the first electric lights flashed in Odessa in 1887, the day of the opening of the theater.
.The eye of the one who enters the hall gently glides from the almost severe simplicity of the Benoir to the boxes of the mezzanine, in the design of which is already more “luxury”, from them – to the dressed up boxes of the first and second tiers.
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Next is the graceful, almost airy arcade that encircles the gallery. And as a final chord – a crystal chandelier.
One of the main attractions of the hall luxurious flower shines chandelier, shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow, sparkling hundreds of crystals. The height of this crystal wonder is 9 meters, diameter 4 meters, and weight about 2.5 tons.
.The ceiling of the auditorium is beautifully decorated. Its composition is based on four medallion paintings by the artist Lefler. They depict scenes from Shakespeare’s works: “Hamlet,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “The Winter’s Tale” and “As You Like It.”
Perhaps no theater has a curtain made with such taste, the sketch of which was created by the largest theater artist A. Golovin. There were two curtains – on the first one, before the restoration, F. Lefler painted a picture based on A.S. Pushkin’s fairy tale “Ruslan and Lyudmila.”
.The area of the stage is 500 m², the area of the rear stage is 200 m², the width of the portal is 15 meters and the height is 12 meters. The floors are made of marble chips in a special pattern for each floor.
Electricity was used for lighting the building for the first time in Odessa. Unique acoustics allows you to convey even a whisper from the stage to any corner of the hall. The theater has a convenient planning, a large hall with 1590 seats and wide foyers, mechanized stage.
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There is also an organ, the pipes of which are placed above the boxes of the second tier and when not in use are closed with special blinds. The organ console is mobile and is set up on stage when needed, whereas it is usually backstage.
There is an orchestra pit in front of the front stage.
.In 1971, an organ by the Rieger-Kloss company was installed in the theater. 3,000 pipes are located in the boxes of the gallery.
On September 22, 2007, the fully restored Opera House was inaugurated. Its original appearance (since 1964) was recreated both inside and out.
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Importantly, visiting the Odessa Opera House, despite the expensive luxury of the interiors, is available to everyone. As of December 2008, ticket prices range from 20 to 100 UAH, if not famous artists perform.
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The repertoire of the Opera House is quite extensive, but among the most famous and successful productions are the following: “Carmen”, “La Traviata”, “Troubadour”, “Rigoletto”, “Zaporozhets za Dunai”, “Cio-Cio-San”, “Natalka-Poltavka”, “Giselle”, “The Nutcracker”, “The Sleeping Beauty”. At these performances, the hall is usually full.
We recommend you to visit this Theater, admire its architecture, enjoy the beautiful music and masterful performance of artists, most of whom are People’s Artists of Ukraine.
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Practical information
The theater box office is open every day except Monday from 11.00 to 19.30.
.Tickets cost from 10 to 300 UAH.
.Tour of the theater with a visit to the museum exposition costs 100 UAH, schedule on the official website: opera.odessa.ua (Russian, Ukr., English)
.How to get there: by shuttle bus № 9, 117, 137, 145, 175, 220a, 221, 223, trolleybus № 1, 9.
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