Odessa Opera theatre Bashny.Net

Every city has its own character. In Odessa, founded and built by Europeans, and suddenly wealthy in the early nineteenth century, became a symbol of the theater. The building of Odessa national academic Opera and ballet theatre is considered one of the most beautiful in the world.


It was created by the Viennese architects H. Helmer and F. Felner, who also built theatres in Vienna, Budapest, Dresden, Zagreb. The first city theatre was opened in 1810, but in 1873, unfortunately, burned down. But rich and full of noble people of Odessa are not going to tolerate this state of Affairs is already in 1887, was built a new theatre extant. The prototype of the Odessa theatre, built in the Viennese Baroque style, was the Dresden Opera.


The new theater became the cultural center of the city, a favorite place for wealthy classes of Odessa, and, in addition, was very popular among artists from around the world. On the stage sang Feodor Chaliapin, Enrico Caruso, Titta Ruffo, Louise Tetrazzini, danced Anna Pavlova, Ekaterina geltzer and Isadora Duncan, conducted by Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Rachmaninoff. The building in Renaissance style with Baroque elements richly decorated. Over the facade rises a statue of the Muse of art Melpomene. For spectators there are places in the stalls boxes stalls, mezzanine, first and second tiers, amphitheatre, and gallery.


Architecture of the auditorium is designed in the style of French Rococo. The hall ceiling is decorated with four medallions with paintings by Francois Lafleur's depicting scenes from Shakespeare's "hamlet", "Midsummer night's Dream", "Winter's tale" and "As you like it". And its centerpiece occupied by a huge crystal chandelier. The auditorium, as well as the lobby, stairs and halls, decorated with stucco, with ornaments in gold, red velvet and wood.In addition, the hall has unique acoustics — a whisper spoken on the stage is heard in all its corners. After the first visit to the Odessa Opera great Fyodor Chaliapin wrote to his wife: "... was in the theater and came to the wild delight from the beauty of the theater. I had never seen anything prettier."




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