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Solomiya Krushelnytska Lviv State Academic Opera
and Ballet Theatre
Svobody Ave, 28
July 4 (Friday)
ONE ACT BALLETS EVENING (PHONOGRAM)
Start time: 18:00
July 5 (Saturday)
Operetta: THE MERRY WIDOW
F.Lehar
Start time: 18:00
July 6 (Sunday)
Opera: ZAPOROZHETS' ZA DUNAYEM
Hulak Artemovskyy
Start time: 12:00
July 6 (Sunday)
Ballet: ROMEO AND JULIET
S. Prokofiev
Start time: 18:00
July 10 (Thursday)
Opera: CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA
P.Maskagni
Start time: 18:00
July 11 (Friday)
Opera: TRAVIATA
G.Verdi
Start time: 18:00
July 12 (Saturday)
Operetta: THE BAT
Johan Strauss
Start time: 18:00
July 13 (Sunday)
Ballet: COPELLIA
L.Delibes
Start time: 12:00
July 13 (Sunday)
Opera: MADAME BUTTERFLY
G.Puccini
Start time: 18:00
July 17 (Thursday)
Opera: RIGOLETTO
G.Verdi
Start time: 18:00
July 18 (Friday)
Concert: THE KING OF THE WALTZ
Johan Strauss
Start time: 18:00
July 19 (Saturday)
Ballet: PREMIERE DON QUIXOTE
L.Minkus
Start time: 18:00
July 20 (Sunday)
Opera: NATALKA POLTAVKA
M. Lysenko
Start time: 12:00
July 20 (Sunday)
Ballet: PREMIERE DON QUIXOTE
L.Minkus
Start time: 18:00
July 23 (Wednesday)
Opera: THE BARBER OF SEVILLE
G. Rossini
Start time: 18:00
July 24 (Thursday)
Ballet: THE RETURN OF THE BUTTERFLY
M. Skoryk � G. Puccini
Start time: 18:00
July 25 (Friday)
Opera: UN BALLO IN MASCHERA
D.Verdi
Start time: 18:00
July 27 (Sunday)
Opera: ZAPOROZHETS' ZA DUNAYEM
Hulak Artemovskyy
Start time: 12:00
July 27 (Sunday)
Ballet: PREMIERE DON QUIXOTE
L.Minkus
Start time: 18:00
A SHORT HISTORY
Svobody Avenue in Lviv is a picturesque tree-lined boulevard crowned by
the majestic Lviv Opera and Ballet Theater named after Solomiya
Krushelnytska. This architectural landmark which adorns the city with
its beauty holds a special place among theatrical structures in
Ukraine, and rivals the most respected theaters in all of Europe.
By the late 19th century, it was determined that
Lviv was in need of a theater suitable for opera, ballet and musical
comedy performances. In 1895 a competition was announced for the best
design of a big municipal theater. The first prize was awarded to a
local architect named Z. Gorgolewski (1845-1903), who at that time was
the head-master of the Lviv Higher Technical School.
Gorgolewskyy proposed that the Theater be constructed atop a marshy
area through which the Poltava River flowed. The choice of this site
was surprising, but the architect successfully diverted the course of
the river by constructing special containers to guide the overflow. On
June 5, 1896, the groundbreaking was initiated. It was the first time
in Europe that solid concrete slabs were used in laying a foundation.
The building was erected in a classical style with forms and details
characteristic of Renaissance and baroque architecture. The exterior
decor adds a solemn quality to the structure. From all angles the
building displays a high level of artistic taste and harmonic
proportions.
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© HK
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The Theater's interior
is striking in its exquisite splendour. It is lavishly decorated with
multi-colored marble, ornamental paintings, moldings, sculptures and
gilding. The numerous decorative reliefs, capitals, masks and other
ornamentation (except for the statues) were executed by E.
Pliszewski.The entrance-hall showcases a majestic marble staircase
leading to the upper circle. The stately portal is crowned with the
allegorical figures of Tragedy and Comedy (sculptor P. Wijtowicz).
Beneath them is a bas-relief portrait of architect Z. Gorgolewski, with
the years 1897—1900 engraved designating the period of the Theater's
construction.
The mirror hall on the first floor is another splendid example of the
Theater’s magnificence. This salon was decorated under the guidance of
the painter S. Dembicki. The pictorial designs above the mirrors
(painter M. Harasymowicz) depict the Four Seasons personified by a boy
with various attributes: with flowers (Spring), with a fife (Summer),
with vegetables amid chrysanthemums (Autumn), near a bonfire (Winter).
© V.Pylypiuk
Two views of the Hall
of Mirrors
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The
lyre-shaped auditorium (22.5 by 18.5 metres) consists of stalls, the
dress circle, the upper circle and the gallery. Its decorative work was
guided by S. Reychan, who painted the "Triumh of Fame" and the narrow
plafond over the orchestra pit. A group of painters executed the huge
plafond over the hall with nine allegoric figures: Grace, Music, Dance,
Critique, Drama, Inspiration, Bacchante (with a tambourine), Innocence
(in a lilac garment), Illusion and Truth (with a looking-glass).
Suspended from the centre of the plafond is the luxurious chandelier
designed by Z. Gorgolewski. And above the stage is the sculptural group
"The Genius with an Angel" executed by P. Wijtowicz.
© V.Pylypiuk
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Lviv's
opera history spans more than two centuries. The town's first
professional theater at the beginning of the 19th century witnessed the
operas of W. A. Mozart, A. Salieri, G. Paisiello, A. Stefani and
others. The Grand Municipal Theater (the original name of the present
Opera Theater) was inaugurated on October 4, 1900.
At different times the Theater's stage was host to such famous singers
as Alexander Mishuga, Salomea Krushelnitskaya, Modest Mentsinsky,
Eugene Gushalevich, Yanina Korolewich-Vaidova, Helena
Zboinska-Ruszkowska, Marcelina Sembrich-Kochaiiska, Ada Sarri, Mattia
Battistini, Gemma Bellincioni, Jan Kiepura, Adam Didur, as well as
celebrated conductors: Filippo Brunette, Victor Podesti, Antonio Ribera.
© HK
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Ballet
productions have included classics such as Swan Lake, Don Quixote,
Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, and The Nutcracker among others.
In addition to operas, operettas, and ballets, dramatic pieces were
shown on the Theater's stage, in particular the plays by N. Gogol, A.
Chekhov, M. Gorky, A. Ostrovsky, stage adaptations of L. Tolstoy's and
F. Dostoyevsky's works. In 1906 among the cast in the performances of
"Father's Tale" by I. Karpenko-Kary, "Black Sea Sailors" by N. Lysenko,
"The Dnipro Kozak across the Danube" by S. Gulak-Artemovsky were Maria
Zankovetskaya, Nikolai Sadovsky, Ivan and Yekaterina Rubchaks, Sophia
and Joseph Stadniks.
The Theater marked its centennial in the year 2000. That same year, the
theater was rededicated in the name of reknowned Ukrainian opera singer
Solomiia Krushelnyts'ka. It had previously been named for Ivan Franko
(a Ukrainian poet with socialist inclinations), a carryover from Soviet
times.
Welcome to the Lviv Theater of Opera and Ballet in the name of Solomiia
Krushelnytska!
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