Kiev (Kyiv) Operas and Theatres

is a step forward to a holiday!

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National Opera House named after T.Shevchenko Volodymyrs'ka Str., 50, metro stop "Zoloti Vorota", tel.: (044) 2791169 Web Site Concerts begin at 7:00pm      National Opera House is situated at the crossing of Khmelnyts'koho and Volodymyrs'ka streets on the Theatre Square. Since 1856 - to 1901 there was a City Theatre (architect I. Shtrom) so the square got its name after it. In summer 1867, the first permanent opera troupe headed by Ferdinand Berger has been formed. Being an excellent organizer of theatrical affaires, he succeeded in inviting many talented singers, musicians, and conductors.

Squares Streets Churches and Cathedrals Parks Monuments Museums Bridges

     November 8, 1867 became a holiday for Kyivites and a historical date for the Ukrainian culture. For the first time Kyiv Opera Theatre raised its curtains! During the first years of the theatre existence, the repertoire included operas of Russian and European authors. In 1874, for the first time in the history of Ukrainian music the national opera "The Christmas Night" by Mykola Lysenko has been presented. That was a very brave step as during that time Ukrainian language was kind of banned. For the second time, the theatre showed Lysenko's "The Christmas Night" only in 1903.
     On the 4th of February, 1896, after the morning performance of the opera Eugene Onegin by P.Tchaikovsky, the fire started in the building by a candle. Flame was spreading so quickly, that within several hours the whole house has been consumed by it. One of the best in Europe musical libraries, costumes and decorations were lost in flame.
     In September 1901 the solemn opening of the new premise of the Opera House took place. Unfortunately, the architect Victor Shreter passed away several months before the event. The exterior of the Opera House was designed in Neo-Renaissance style and the interior was redesigned in a classical style and called Viennese Modern. However, the greatest achievement was the stage - one of the largest in Europe designed to the latest engineering standards.
     For more than eight decades the V.Shreter's architectural masterpiece existed without any major changes. Among the theatres of the main city of Ukraine, Kyiv Opera House was considered to be the most prestigious, and the prices for tickets here were the highest.
     In 1911, Tsar Nikolai, the Second, during his stay in Kyiv, had decided to attend the Opera House. The emperor with his retinue was present at a performance "The Fairy Tale about the Tsar Saltan" by N.Rimsky-Korsakov. In the entr'acte after the second act, anarchist Bagrov approached the Prime Minister Peter Stolypin and fatally wounded him.
     In 1919, the new page in the history of the Theatre has been opened. The Kyiv Opera House was nationalized. Struggle for the Ukrainian State system in 1918 - 1920 arouse the revival of the national culture. However, after the downfall of the Ukrainian National Republic, all the creative innovations directed to the development of the national culture were quickly liquidated. In 1925, the new wave of ukrainization touched all spheres of life, including the opera art. One after another oepras of Ukrainian aouthors began to appear in the repertoire of the Kiev Opera, such as "Taras Bulba", "The Christmas Night" by M.Lysenko, "Zaporozhian Cossack beyond the Danube" by S.Hulak-Artemovsky, "Carmeluk" by V.Kostenko and others. But the period of the ukrainization and liberalizationwas quite short, and later, in 30s, the Communist Party demanded creating so-called Bolshevik repertoire, where the heroes would be in jackets, and heroine - in red kerchiefs.
     There was the following essential reorganization of the theatre in 1934, when Kyiv became the capital of Ukraine.
     On March 5, 1939 the Kyiv Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet was named after the great Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko on the occasion of the 125 anniversary of his birthday. In 1992 the Theatre had received the status of the National Theatre.
    While in Kyiv, the Opera and Ballet House is a must to see. You will be impressed by the geat performances of the Ukrainian artists. The opera "The Fair in Sorotchintsy" with about 100 singers and 40 musicians, the ballet "Spartacus" with more than 80 ballet-dancers and other leave great memories.
     The Ukrainian "Scheherezade" ballet is considered to be one of the best in Europe.

     Admission: starts at 3 US dollars and up.

National Philharmonic Hall

Volodymyrs'kyi Uzviz, 2, metro stop "Maidan Nezalezhnosti", tel.: (044) 2781697
Web Site

National Philharmonic Society of Ukraine is one of the oldest in the country, tracing its roots to 1863. It took its name of the founder of Ukrainian professional musical culture Mykola Lysenko, who was a Ukrainian composer, pianist, conductor and a folksong collector. In 1962 the Hall of Columns of the Kiev State Philharmonic was named after Mykola Lysenko on the occasion of the 120-th birth anniversary and the 50-th death anniversary of the composer. The building of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine was also awarded the status of architectural monument. The National Philharmonic is of a great importance in the musical life of Ukraine and the world with its splendid performers and orchestras.

     The Symphonic Orchestra of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine was created in September, 1995. It is the main body of the main concert hall of the capital of Ukraine - Lysenko Concert Hall. Nowadays, the Orchestra is acknowledged as one of the best collectives of the East Europe being a noticeable figure in the European musical life.
    The Kiev Chamber Orchestra was created in 1963 by the well-known violinist and conductor Anton Sharoev. Soon, the Orchestra became one of the best chamber ensembles on the territory of the former USSR.

   "Kiev Orchestra, rare delights. Conductor Roman Kofman and his orchestra gave the kind of performance that lives long in one's memory" The Washington Post, USA

     After the 1917 the Cathedral has been closed. During the World War II the building was vastly ruined. At some point, during Soviet times the Cathedral was even used as a KGB service building.
     But after its restoration in 1979-1980, the Church was turned into the National House of Organ and Chamber Music of Ukraine. The stained glass windows of the building were manufactured in the Baltics, its stylish furniture was made in Lviv, and the high quality parquet is from Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast.
    The big concert organ has been manufactured by the Czech company Riger - Kloss specially for the Cathedral Concert Hall. Unique architecture of the building has been organically combined with the unique instrument.

Kyiv ( Kiev ) State Operetta Theatre

Velyka Vasyl'kivs'ka (former Chervonoarmiys'ka) Str., 53/3, metro stop "Respublikans'kiy Stadion", tel.: (044) 287-26-30, 287-62-57
Web Site

Concerts begin at 7:00pm

Kyiv State Operetta Theatre was founded in 1932. At that time it was called "Kyiv Theatre of the Music Comedy" . It is situated in the former National  Troitsky House which was built by Osmak and Antonovsky in 1902.     It became the cradle of Ukrainial musical-dramatic art as there was opened the first Ukrainian stationary theatre named after Mykola Sadovsky in 1907. The stage of the theatre seen such prominent Ukrainian luminaries as Mariya Zan'kovetska, Marko Kropyvnytsky and Panas Saksagansky. At one time Simon Petliura worked at the Theatre as a manager of the literary department.

     For the first time the plays of a legendary producer and reformer of the theatre Les Kurbas were staged here as well.
    The first premiere of the theatre was "The Bat" of Y.Strauss and the Ukrainian playes appeared in the repertoire a little later with the "Salesman of Birds" of K.Tseller. In 1966 the theatre got it's name of Kyiv State Theatre of Operetta under the leadership of producer Borys Sharvarka.
    Kyiv State Theatre of Operetta is well know all over the world. Over the 72 years of its creative activities over 200 plays among which are classic operettas of E.Kalman, F.Lahar, Y.Strauss, Offenbach, musicals of F.Loew, I.Poklad, J.Gershwin, musical comedies and children performances of foreign and Ukrainian authors were staged at the theatre.