Odessa is famous for its architectural sights, among which a special place is given to the National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater. The architecture of this building in its layout and technical parameters is not inferior to the best theaters of the continent, it is not surprising that it is called the European pearl.
Instruction manual
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Initially, the theater building accommodated eight hundred spectators, seventeen lodges for dignitaries were also equipped. The theater was repeatedly completed, but on the night of the second of January 1873, a fire broke out in its building, which led to severe destruction. The city authorities decided to erect a new theater building. Eleven years later, construction work began, led by renowned Viennese architects F. Fellner and G. Gelmer. The Dresden Opera, designed by architect Gottfried Semper, was taken as a model. For the construction of the new building of the Odessa Theater, local building materials were used, mainly limestone-shell rock.
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The architecture of the Odessa Theater is made in the style of the famous Viennese "Baroque", which was very popular at that time in European art. The facade of the building is decorated with a sculptural group depicting the muse Melpomene, who is considered the patroness of art. Not far from the main entrance on pedestals are two sculptures that embody tragedy and comedy. On the front of the building there are busts of the founders of Russian music and literature: M.I. Glinka, A.S. Pushkin, N.V. Gogol and A.S. Griboedov. No less elegant is the interior decoration, which is made in the style of the French "Rococo", the luxurious auditorium, decorated with stucco ornaments with gilding, domes, columns, sculptures and arches, stands out especially. The ceiling is also irresistible, decorated with compositions of four Lefler’s paintings in the form of medallions depicting scenes from Shakespeare’s works “A Midsummer Night's Dream”, “Hamlet”, “How You Like It” and “Winter's Tale”. Perhaps no theater has a curtain made with such a taste, the sketch of which was created by the largest theater artist A. Golovin.
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The theater is interesting not only for its architecture, but also for its rich creative biography. The theater has a great merit in the development of musical culture in the south of our country. Here, P.I. Tchaikovsky, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, S.V. Rachmaninov, Eugene Izai, Pablo Sarasate performed their works. Performers were artists whose names glorified Russian art. The great Fedor Chaliapin, Solomiya Krushelnitskaya, Antonina Nezhdanova, Leonid Sobinov, Titta Ruffo, Battistini, Geraldoni sang here, the first ballerina of the world - Anna Pavlova danced.
