(English Sydney Opera House) - one of the most famous and easily recognizable buildings in the world, which is a symbol of Australia's largest city, Sydney, and one of the main attractions of Australia - Sailing shells that form the roof make this building unlike any other in the world. The Opera House is recognized as one of the outstanding buildings of modern architecture and since 1973, along with the Harbor Bridge, has been the hallmark of Sydney.

The Sydney Opera House is located in Sydney Harbour, at Bennelong Point. This place got its name from an Australian aborigine, a friend of the first governor of the colony. It is hard to imagine Sydney without the Opera, but until 1958 there was an ordinary tram depot in its place (before the opera building there was a fort, and then a tram depot).

The architect of the Opera House is the Dane Jorn Utzon. Despite the success of the concept of spherical shells, which solved all the problems of construction, being well suited for mass production, precise manufacturing and ease of installation, construction was delayed, mainly due to interior decoration. It was planned that the construction of the Opera would take 4 years and would cost 7 million Australian dollars. Instead, the opera took 14 years to build and cost $102 million!

The Sydney Opera House is an Expressionist building with a radical and innovative design. The building covers an area of ​​2.2 hectares. Its height is 185 meters and the maximum width is 120 meters. The building weighs 161,000 tons and rests on 580 piles sunk into the water to a depth of almost 25 meters from sea level. Its power supply is equivalent to the electricity consumption of one city with a population of 25,000 people. Electricity is distributed over 645 kilometers of cable.

The roof of the opera house consists of 2,194 prefabricated sections, its height is 67 meters and the weight is more than 27 tons, the entire structure is supported by steel cables 350 kilometers long. The roof of the theater is formed by a series of "shells" of a non-existent concrete sphere 492 feet in diameter, commonly referred to as "shells" or "sails", although this is incorrect in terms of the architectural definition of such a structure. These shells are constructed from prefabricated, triangular concrete panels supported by 32 prefabricated ribs of the same material. All ribs form part of one large circle, which allowed the outlines of the roofs to have the same shape, and the whole building to have a complete and harmonious look.

The entire roof is covered with 1,056,006 azulejo tiles in white and matt cream. Although from a distance the structure seems to be made entirely of white tiles, under different lighting conditions the tiles create different color schemes. Thanks to the mechanical way of laying tiles, the entire surface of the roof turned out to be perfectly smooth, which was impossible with manual coating. All tiles were produced by the Swedish factory Höganäs AB with self-cleaning technology, but in spite of this, work is carried out regularly to clean and replace some of the tiles.

The two largest arches of shells form the ceiling of the Concert Hall and the Opera Theatre. In other rooms, the ceilings form clusters of smaller vaults.

The stepped structure of the roof was very beautiful, but created height problems inside the building, because the resulting height did not provide proper acoustics in the halls. To solve this problem, separate ceilings were made to reflect sound. In the smallest shell, away from the main entrance and the main staircase, is the Bennelong Restaurant.

The interior of the building is finished with pink granite brought from the Tarana region (New South Wales), wood and plywood.

For this project, Utzon received the Pritzker Prize, the highest award in architecture, in 2003. The award was accompanied by the words: "There is no doubt that the Sydney Opera House is his masterpiece. It is one of the great iconic buildings of the 20th century, an image of extraordinary beauty that has become known throughout the world - a symbol not only of the city, but of the whole country and continent ."

The Sydney Opera House is home to four key art companies in Australia - the Australian Opera, the Australian Ballet, the Sydney Theater Company and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, as well as many other companies and theaters based in the Sydney Opera House. This theater is one of the busiest centers for the performing arts, hosting around 1,500 performances each year with a total attendance of over 1.2 million people. It is also one of Australia's most popular attractions, with over seven million tourists visiting each year.

There are three main halls for performances in the building of the Opera House:

The Concert Hall, with 2,679 seats, is the home of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. It contains the world's largest functioning mechanical organ, with over 10,000 pipes.

The Opera House, 1507 seats, is the home of the Sydney Opera House and the Australian Ballet.

The Drama Theatre, 544 seats, is used by the Sydney Theater Company and other dance and theater companies.

In addition to these three halls, the Sydney Opera House contains several smaller halls and studios.

Natalie Dessay (born Nathalie Dessaix) is a French opera singer, coloratura soprano. One of the leading singers of our time, at the beginning of her career she was known for her very high and transparent voice, now she sings in a lower range. Loved by the audience for excellent dramatic data and a lively sense of humor. Nathalie Dessay was born April 19, 1965 in Lyon and grew up in Bordeaux. While still at school, she omitted the letter "h" from her name, in honor of actress Natalie Wood, and later simplified the spelling of her last name. In her youth, Dessay dreamed of becoming a ballerina or an actress and took acting lessons, but one day, playing with fellow students in a little-known play of the 18th century, she had to sing, she performed Pamina's aria from The Magic Flute, everyone was amazed, she was recommended to switch attention to music. Natalie entered the State Conservatory in Bordeaux, completed a five-year study in just one year, and graduated with honors in 1985. After the conservatory, she worked with the National Orchestra of the Capitole of Toulouse. In 1989, she took second place in the New Voices competition held by France Telecom, which allowed her to study for a year at the Paris Opera School of Lyric Arts and perform there as Eliza in Mozart's The Shepherd King. In the spring of 1992, she sang the short part of Olympia from Offenbach's "Tales of Hoffmann" at the Bastille Opera, her partner was José van Dam, the production disappointed critics and audiences, but the young singer received a standing ovation and was noticed. This role will become a landmark for her, until 2001 she will play Olympia in eight different productions, including during her debut at La Scala. In 1993, Natalie Dessay won the International Mozart Competition held by the Vienna Opera and remained to study and perform at the Vienna Opera. Here she sang the role of Blonde from Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio, which became another of her most famous and most frequently performed roles. In December 1993, Natalie was offered to replace Cheryl Studer in the now famous role of Olympia at the Vienna Opera. Her performance was recognized by the audience in Vienna and praised by Placido Domingo, in the same year she performed with this role at the Lyon Opera. Natalie Dessay's international career began with performances at the Vienna Opera. In the 1990s, her recognition was constantly growing and the repertoire of roles was constantly expanding, she received many offers, she performed at all the leading opera houses in the world - the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, the Bavarian Opera, Covent Garden, the Vienna Opera and others. A distinctive feature of the actress Dessay is that she believes that an opera singer should consist of 70% of the theater and 30% of music and strive not only to sing her roles, but also to play them dramatically, so each of her characters is a new discovery, never like the others. In the 2001/2002 season, Dessay began to experience vocal difficulties and had to cancel her performances and recitals. She left the stage and in July 2002 had an operation to remove polyps on her vocal cords, already in February 2003 she returned with a solo concert in Paris and actively continued her career. In the 2004/2005 season, Natalie Dessay had to undergo a second operation. A new public appearance took place in May 2005 in Montreal. The return of Natalie Dessay was accompanied by a reorientation in her lyrical repertoire. She eschews "light" roles without depth (like Gilda in "Rigoletto") or roles she doesn't want to play anymore (Queen of the Night or Olympia) in favor of more "tragic" characters. This position at first brought serious disagreements with some directors and colleagues. Today, Natalie Dessay is at the pinnacle of her career and is the leading soprano of today. Lives and performs mainly in the USA, but constantly tours in Europe. Russian fans could see her in St. Petersburg in 2010 and in Moscow in 2011. In early 2011, she sang (for the first time) the role of Cleopatra in Handel's Julius Caesar at the Opéra Garnier, returned to the Metropolitan Opera with her traditional " Lucia di Lammermoor", then returned to Europe again with a concert version of "Pelléas et Mélisande" in Paris and London and a concert in Moscow. The singer's immediate plans include many projects: La Traviata in Vienna in 2011 and at the Metropolitan Opera in 2012, Cleopatra in Julius Caesar at the Metropolitan Opera in 2013, Manon at the Paris Opera and La Scala in 2012, Marie ("Daughter of the Regiment") in Paris in 2013, and Elvira at the Met in 2014. Natalie Dessay is married to bass-baritone Laurent Naoury and they have two children. On the opera stage, they can be seen together very rarely, unlike the star couple Alanya-Georgiou, the fact is that for a baritone-soprano there is much less repertoire than for a tenor-soprano. For the sake of her husband, Dessey adopted his religion - Judaism.

Renee Fleming is an American opera singer and full lyric soprano. One of the world's leading opera singers of our time - "one of the few true superstars of our time." Renee Fleming was born February 14, 1959 in Indiana, Pennsylvania, USA and grew up in Rochester, New York. Her parents were music and singing teachers, so a musical education came naturally to her: "My parents discussed singing every night at the dinner table, I received a huge musical education." She attended the State University of New York at Potsdam, graduating in 1981 with a degree in music education. However, she did not consider her future career to be in opera. Even while studying at the university, she performed in a jazz group at a local bar. Her voice and abilities attracted famed Illinois jazz saxophonist Jacquet, who invited her to tour with his big band. Instead, Rene went to graduate school at the Eastman School (conservatory) of music, and then from 1983 to 1987 studied at the Juilliard School (the largest American institution of higher education in the field of art) at New York's Lincoln Center. In 1984, she received a Fulbright Education Grant and went to Germany to study operatic singing, one of her teachers being the legendary Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. Fleming returned to New York in 1985 and completed her studies at the Juilliard School. While still a student at the Juilliard School, Renee Fleming began her professional career, but so far in small opera companies and in minor roles. In 1986, at the Federal State Theatre, Salzburg, Austria, she sang her first major operatic role, Constanza from Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio. The role of Constanza is one of the most difficult in the soprano repertoire and Fleming admitted to herself that she still needed to work on both vocal technique and confidence on stage, she worked on this very actively and two years later, in 1988, she won several vocal competitions at once: young performers of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the George London Prize and the Eleanor McCollum Competition in Houston. In the same year she made her debut as the Countess in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro in Houston, and the following year at the New York Opera and Covent Garden as Mimi in La bohème. The first performance at the Metropolitan Opera was planned for 1992, but unexpectedly fell on March 1991, when Felicity Lott fell ill and Fleming replaced her in the role of the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro. And although she was recognized as a strong soprano, there was no stardom in her - this came later, when she became the "Gold Standard of the soprano". And before that, there was a lot of work, rehearsals, diverse roles of the entire operatic spectrum, tours around the world, recordings, ups and downs. She was not afraid of risk and accepted challenges, one of which was in 1997 the role of Manon Lescaut Jules Massenet in French in Paris at the Bastille Opera, the French are reverent about their heritage, but Fleming's impeccable performance brought her a triumph. What went with the French did not go with the Italians, and Fleming was blatantly booed at the premiere of Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia at La Scala in 1998, although at her first performance at La Scala in 1993 she was very warmly received as Donna Elvira in " Don Giovanni by Mozart. A 1998 performance in Milan, Fleming calls his "worst night of operatic life". Today René Fleming is one of the most popular sopranos of our time. The combination of vocal beauty, stylistic versatility and unusual dramatic charisma makes any of her performances an operatic, and not only, masterpiece. She easily and equally beautifully plays complete opposites - Verdi's Desdemona or Handel's Alcina. Thanks to her sense of humor, openness and ease of communication, Fleming is constantly invited to participate in various television and radio programs. In 2003, she recorded several songs for the soundtrack of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, for which she had to learn the Elvish language. The singer's discography and DVD includes about 50 albums, including those in her passion - jazz. Three of her albums have been awarded Grammy awards, the last in 2010 - the album "Verismo" - a collection of arias by Puccini, Mascagni, Cilea, Giordano, Leoncavallo. Renee Fleming's work schedule is scheduled for several years ahead, but by her own admission, she currently gravitates more towards solo concert activity than opera, explaining that having learned more than 50 operas, she is unlikely to discover much new for herself.

Kiri Janet Te Kanawa is a New Zealand opera singer and lyric soprano. One of the leading opera singers of our time with a warm beautiful voice and a very wide repertoire of operatic roles in various languages. Kiri Te Kanawa (born Claire Mary Teresa Rostron) March 6, 1944 in Gisborne, New Zealand to an Irish mother and a Maori father, but little is known about her parents as She was adopted as a baby by the Te Kanawa family, her adoptive parents were also Maori and Irish. She received her general and musical education in Auckland and was already a popular singer in clubs in New Zealand during her teenage years and youth. At the same time, she collected all the significant music prizes in Australia and New Zealand in 1963, she was second in the "Mobil (Lexus) Song Quest" competition, the first place at that time was taken by another famous opera singer from New Zealand, Malvina Major. Kiri Te Kanawa herself won the same competition in 1965 with the aria "Vissi d'arte" from Puccini's "Tosca". the same year, without audition, she entered the Center for Opera Singing in London, teachers noted both her talent and the initial lack of vocal technique. The debut on the opera stage took place in 1968 as the second lady in Mozart's Magic Flute at the London Theater " Sadler Wells", he was immediately followed by roles in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas and the title role in Donizetti's Anna Boleyn. to my ears, I did a thousand auditions and it was a fantastically beautiful voice." The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden signed a contract with Kiri Te Kanawa for three years and her first performances on the stage of this theater took place as Xenia in "Boris Godunov" and the girl- flower in "Parsifal" in 1970. Te Kanawa continued to carefully prepare for the role of the Countess, which was scheduled to premiere at Covet Garden in December 1971, but before that there was a performance at the Santa Fe Opera Festival (New Mexico, USA), where she tested this role, along with her at the same festival, US singer Frederica von Stade performed, later the press noted their performance: "... there were two newcomers who dazzled the audience ... everyone immediately realized that these were two finds and history confirmed their performance." These two singers became friends for many years. On December 1, 1971, at Covent Garden, Kiri Te Kanawa repeated her performance in Santa Fe and created an international sensation. On this day, she received the status of an undisputed opera star and became one of the most famous sopranos in the world, performing at the world's leading opera houses - Covent Garden, Metropolitan Opera (1974 debut), Paris Opera (1975), Sydney Opera House (1978) , Vienna State Opera (1980), La Scala (1978), Chicago Lyric Opera, San Francisco, Bavarian and many others. Her heroines include a huge repertoire for soprano, among them - the three main roles of Richard Strauss - Arabella from "Arabella", Marchalsha, Princess Maria Therese von Werdenberg from "The Rosenkavalier" and the Countess from "Capriccio"; Mozart's Fiordiligi from All Women Do It, Donna Elvira from Don Giovanni, Pamina from The Magic Flute, and, of course, Countess Almaviva from The Marriage of Figaro; Verdi's Violetta from "Triaviatta", Amelia Boccanegra from "Simon Boccanegra", Desdemona from "Ottelo"; from Puccini - Tosca, Mimi and Manon Lescaut; Carmen Bizet, Tatiana Tchaikovsky, Rosalind Johann Strauss and many others. On the concert stage, her vocal beauty and clarity combined with the world's leading symphony orchestras from London, Chicago, Los Angeles under the baton of such conductors as Claudio Abbado, Colin Davis, Charles Duthoit, Georg Solti and others. She became a regular participant in international opera festivals - in Glideborn, Salzburg, Verona. During her long creative career, Kiri Te Kanawa has released about eighty discs of both operatic and concert music - Mozart's concert arias, Strauss' Four Last Songs, Brahms' German Requiem, Handel's Messiah and others, as well as albums with popular music and songs of the Maori people such as tribute to his people. Some of her discs have been awarded Grammy awards. The last album "Kiri Sings Karl" was released in 2006. Two significant events were in her career, which are almost impossible for any opera singer to repeat. In 1981, she performed as soloist at the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana at St Paul's Cathedral in London. The live television broadcast of this event attracted over 600 million viewers. The second record - in 1990 she gave an open concert in Auckland, 140 thousand spectators came to her solo performance. Now her activity outside the stage is connected with the fund she created for support and financial assistance to young singers and musicians. Kiri Te Kanawa has been awarded many awards and prizes for her services to the development of art, the highest of which are Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1982), Companion of the Order of Australia (1990), Order of New Zealand (1995). She has also received honorary degrees from Cambridge, Oxford, Chicago, Nottingham and other universities. In recent years, Kiri Te Kanawa's performances on the opera stage and concert venues have become rare, but she has not yet announced her retirement from the stage, although it was believed that her last performance would be in April 2010, but she continues to perform.

Inva Mula is an Albanian opera singer and soprano. She occupies a significant place in the opera world, however, outside the opera stage, she is best known for her performance of the aria in the film "The Fifth Element". Inva Mula was born on June 27, 1963 in Tirana, Albania, her father Avni Mula is a famous Albanian singer and composer, her daughter's name - Inva is a reverse reading of her father's name. She studied vocal and piano in her hometown, first at a music school, then at the conservatory under the guidance of her mother, Nina Mula. In 1987, Inva won the "Singer of Albania" competition in Tirana, in 1988 - at the George Enescu International Competition in Bucharest. The debut on the opera stage took place in 1990 at the Opera and Ballet Theater in Tirana with the role of Leila in "The Pearl Seekers" by J. Bizet. Soon Inva Mula left Albania and got a job as a singer in the choir of the Paris National Opera (Bastille Opera and Opera Garnier). In 1992, Inva Mula received first prize at the Butterfly Competition in Barcelona. The main success, after which fame came to her, was a prize at the first Placido Domingo Operalia competition in Paris in 1993. The final gala concert of this competition was held at the Opera Garnier, a disc was released and tenor Placido Domingo with the winners of the competition, including Inva Mula, repeated this program at the Bastille Opera, as well as in Brussels, Munich and Oslo. This tour attracted attention to her and the singer began to be invited to perform at various opera houses around the world. The range of roles of Inva Mula is wide enough, she sings Verdi's Gilda in "Rigoletto", Nanette in "Falstaff" and Violetta in "La Traviata". Her other roles are Michaela in Carmen, Antonia in The Tales of Hoffmann, Musetta and Mimi in La bohème, Rosina in The Barber of Seville, Nedda in Pagliacci, Magda and Lisette in The Swallow, and many others. Inva Mula's career continues successfully, she regularly performs at European and world opera houses, including La Scala in Milan, the Vienna State Opera, the Arena di Verona, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Metropolitan Opera, the Los Angeles Opera, as well as theaters in Tokyo, Barcelona, ​​​​Toronto , Bilbao and others. Inva Mula chose Paris as her home, and is now considered more of a French singer than an Albanian one. She constantly performs in French theaters in Toulouse, Marseille, Lyon and, of course, in Paris. In 2009/10 Inva Mula opened the Paris Opera season at the Opéra Bastille, starring in Charles Gounod's rarely performed Mireille. Inva Mula has released several albums as well as television and video recordings of her performances on DVD, including the operas La bohème, Falstaff and Rigoletto. A recording of the opera The Swallow with conductor Antonio Pappano and the London Symphony Orchestra in 1997 won the Gramophone Award for "Best Recording of the Year". Until the mid-1990s, Inva Mula was married to Albanian singer and composer Pirro Tchako and at the beginning of her career used either her husband's surname or the double surname Mula-Tchako, after the divorce she began to use only her first name - Inva Mula. Inva Mula, outside the operatic stage, made a name for herself by voicing the role of Diva Plavalaguna (a tall blue-skinned alien with eight tentacles) in Jean-Luc Besson's fantasy film The Fifth Element, starring Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich. The singer performed the aria "Oh fair sky! .. Sweet sound" (Oh, giusto cielo! .. Il dolce suono) from the opera "Lucia di Lammermoor" by Gaetano Donizetti and the song "Diva's Dance", in which, most likely, the voice was subjected to electronically processed to achieve a height impossible for a human, although the filmmakers claim the opposite. Director Luc Besson wanted the voice of his favorite singer, Maria Callas, to be used in the film, but the quality of the available recordings was not good enough to be used on the film's soundtrack, and Inva Mula was brought in to provide the voice.

Montserrat Caballe (full name: Maria de Montserrat Viviana Concepcion Caballe i Folch) is a Spanish Catalan opera singer, soprano. She is famous for her bel canto technique and her interpretation of the performance of roles in classical Italian operas by Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti Montserrat Caballé was born in Barcelona on April 12, 1933. She studied for 12 years at the Higher Conservatory of Music of the Barcelona Lyceum and graduated with a gold medal in 1954. In 1957 she made her debut on the opera stage as Mimi in La bohème. From 1960 to 1961 she sang at the Bremen Opera, where she greatly expanded her repertoire.In 1962, she returned to Barcelona and made her debut in Arabella by Richard Strauss.In 1964, she married Bernab Marty. in New York at Carnegie Hall, when she was forced to replace the ill Marilyn Horne and perform the part in Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia. Her performance became a sensation in the world of opera, the audience applauded for 25 minutes. The next day, the New York Times came out with the headline: "Callas + Tebaldi = Caballe." That same year, Caballe made her stage debut at Glyndebourne in The Knight of the Rose, and shortly thereafter at the Metropolitan Opera as Marguerite in Faust. Since that time, her fame has never faded - the best opera stages in the world were open to her - New York, London, Milan, Berlin, Moscow, Rome, Paris. In September 1974, she underwent a major operation and suffered from stomach cancer. She recovered and returned to the stage in early 1975. She made her 99th performance and last at the Metropolitan Opera on January 22, 1988, as Mimi in Puccini's La bohème, opposite Luciano Pavarotti (Rodolfo). In 1988, together with Queen vocalist Freddie Mercury, she recorded the album "Barcelona", the main song of which with the same name became a super hit in the early 90s and took first place in the European pop charts. This single became the anthem of the 1992 Summer Olympics. After the death of Freddie Mercury, his voice is heard in the recording, and Montserrat Caballe refuses to sing this song in a duet with other singers. Until recently, she leads an active lifestyle, and there are no signs of fatigue, both creatively and socially. Caballe has devoted herself to charitable work, she is a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and has created a fund to help children.

Cecilia Bartoli is an Italian opera singer, coloratura mezzo-soprano. One of the leading and commercially successful opera singers of our time. Cecilia Bartoli was born on June 4, 1966 in Rome. Bartoli's parents are Silvana Bazzoni and Pietro Angelo Bartoli, professional singers, employees of the Rome Opera. The first and main teacher of Cecilia in vocals was her mother. At the age of nine, Cecilia first appeared on the "big stage" - she appeared in one of the mass scenes at the Rome Opera in the form of a shepherd boy in the production of "Tosca". As a child, the future singer was fond of dancing and was engaged in flamenco, but her parents did not see her career in dancing and were unhappy with her daughter's hobby, they insisted that she continue her musical education. Flamenco gave Bartoli the ease and passion with which she performs on stage, and her love for this dance is still relevant today. At the age of 17, Bartoli entered the Santa Cecilia Conservatory. In 1985, she performed in the television show New Talents: she sang "Barcarolle" from Offenbach's "Tales of Hoffmann", Rosina's aria from "The Barber of Seville" and even a duet with baritone Leo Nucci. And although she took second place, her performance made a splash among opera lovers. Bartoli soon performed in a concert organized by the Paris Opera in memory of Maria Callas. After this concert, three "heavyweights" in the world of classical music drew attention to her - Herbert von Karajan, Daniel Barenboim and Nikolaus Arnoncourt. His professional operatic debut took place in 1987 at the Arena di Verona. The following year, she sang the role of Rosina in Rossini's The Barber of Seville at the Cologne Opera and the role of Cherubino opposite Nikolaus Harnoncourt in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro in Zurich, Switzerland. Herbert von Karajan invited her to participate in the Salzburg Festival and perform J.S. Bach's Mass in B minor with him, but the maestro's death prevented her plans from being fulfilled. In 1990, Bartoli made her debut at the Bastille Opera with the role of Cherubino, at the Hamburg State Opera as Idamante in Mozart's Idomeneo, and also in the USA at the Mostly Mozart festival in New York and signed an exclusive contract with DECCA. In 1991 she made her debut at La Scala as the page Isolier in Rossini's La Comte Ori, and since then, at the age of 25, she has established her reputation as one of the world's leading performers of Mozart and Rossini. Since then, her career has developed rapidly - listing the best theaters in the world, premieres, solo concerts, conductors, recordings, festivals and Chechili Bartoli awards could grow into a book. Since 2005, Cecilia Bartoli has focused on baroque and early classicist music by composers such as Gluck, Vivaldi, Haydn and Salieri, and more recently on the music of the romantic era and Italian bel canto. She currently lives with her family in Monte Carlo and works at the Zurich Opera. Cecilia Bartoli is a frequent guest in Russia, since 2001 she has visited our country many times, the last of the tours took place in September 2011. Some critics notice that Cecilia Bartoli is considered one of the best mezzo-sopranos of our time only because with this type of voice (unlike soprano) she has very few competitors, nevertheless her performances gather full halls of fans, and discs are sold in millions of copies. . For services in the field of music, Cecilia Bartoli has been awarded many state and public awards, including the French Orders of Merit and Arts and Letters and the Italian knighthood, and she is also an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music in London, etc. She is the owner of five Grammy awards, the last of which won in 2011 in the nomination "Best Classical Vocal Performance" with the album "Sacrifice" (Sacrificium).

Elina Garanca is a Latvian singer (mezzo-soprano), one of the leading opera singers of our time. Elina Garancha was born on September 16, 1976 in Riga in a family of musicians, her father is a choral director, and her mother, Anita Garancha, is a professor at the Latvian Academy of Music, an associate professor at the Latvian Academy of Culture, and a vocal teacher at the Latvian National Opera. In 1996, Elina Garancha entered the Latvian Academy of Music in Riga, where she studied vocals with Sergey Martynov, and since 1998 she continued her studies with Irina Gavrilovich in Vienna, and then with Virginia Zeani in the USA. One of the most profound events that influenced Elina during her studies was the performance in 1998 of the part of Jane Seymour from the opera Anna Boleyn by Gaetano Donizetti - Garancia learned the role in ten days and found a deep sympathy for the bel canto repertoire. After graduation, Garancha made her debut on the professional opera stage at the State Theater of Southern Thuringia in Meiningen, Germany, with the role of Octavian in The Rosenkavalier. In 1999 she won the Miriam Helin Vocal Competition in Helsinki, Finland. In 2000, Elina Garanca won the main prize in the Latvian National Performing Competition, and then was accepted into the troupe and worked at the Frankfurt Opera, where she performed the roles of the Second Lady in The Magic Flute, Hansel in Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel and Rosina in Seville. barber." In 2001 she became a finalist at the prestigious Cardiff International Singing Competition and released her debut solo album with a program of opera arias. The young singer's international breakthrough came in 2003 at the Salzburg Festival, when she sang the part of Annio in Mozart's production of Titus' Mercy conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt. This performance was followed by success and numerous engagements. The main place of work was the Vienna State Opera, in which Garancha performed the parts of Charlotte in "Werther" and Dorabella in "Everybody Does It So" in 2003-2004. In France, she first appeared at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées (Angelina in Rossini's Cinderella) and then at the Paris Opera (Opera Garnier) as Octavian. In 2007, Elina Garanca performed for the first time on the main opera stage of her hometown of Riga at the Latvian National Opera as Carmen. In the same year, she made her debuts at the Berlin State Opera (Sext) and at the Royal Theater "Covent Garden" in London (Dorabella), and in 2008 - at the Metropolitan Opera in New York with the role of Rosina in " Barber of Seville" and at the Bavarian Opera in Munich (Adalgisa). Currently, Elina Garancha performs on the stages of the world's leading opera houses and concert venues as one of the brightest musical stars thanks to her beautiful voice, musicality and convincing dramatic talent. Critics noted the ease, speed, and sheer comfort with which Garancha wielded her voice, and the success with which she applied modern vocal technique to the complex Rossini repertoire of the early 19th century. Elina Garancha has a solid collection of audio and video recordings, including a Grammy-winning recording of Antonio Vivaldi's opera "Bayazet" conducted by Fabio Biondi, where Elina sang the part of Andronicus. Elina Garancha is married to English conductor Karel Mark Chichon and the couple are expecting their first child at the end of October 2011.

Angela Gheorghiu (Romanian Angela Gheorghiu) is a Romanian opera singer, soprano. One of the most famous opera singers of our time. Angela Georgiou (Burlacu) was born on September 7, 1965 in the small town of Ajud, Romania. From early childhood it was obvious that she would become a singer, her destiny was music. She studied at a music school in Bucharest and graduated from the National University of Music of Bucharest. Her professional operatic debut took place in 1990 as Mimi in Puccini's La bohème in Cluj, and in the same year she won the Hans Gabor Belvedere international vocal competition in Vienna. The surname Georgiou remained with her from her first husband. Angela Georgiou made her international debut in 1992 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in La Boheme. In the same year, she made her debut at the New York Metropolitan Opera and at the Vienna State Opera. In 1994, at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, she sang the part of Violetta in La Traviata for the first time, at this moment the "birth of a star" took place, Angela Georgiou began to enjoy constant success in opera houses and concert halls around the world: in New York, London, Paris, Salzburg, Berlin, Tokyo, Rome, Seoul, Venice, Athens, Monte Carlo, Chicago, Philadelphia, Sao Paulo, Los Angeles, Lisbon, Valencia, Palermo, Amsterdam, Kuala Lumpur, Zurich, Vienna, Salzburg, Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Prague, Montreal, Moscow, Taipei, San Juan, Ljubljana. In 1994, she met the tenor Roberto Alagna, whom she married in 1996. The wedding ceremony took place at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The Alanya-Georgiou couple has long been the brightest creative family union on the opera stage, now they are divorced. Her first exclusive record deal was signed in 1995 with Decca, after which she released several albums a year, now she has about 50 albums, both staged opera and solo concerts. All of her CDs have received critical acclaim and won many international awards, including the Gramophone magazine award, the German Echo Prize, the French Diapason d’Or and Choc du Monde de la Musique, and many others. Twice in 2001 and 2010, the British "Classical BRIT Awards" named her "Best Female Singer of the Year". The range of roles of Angela Georgiou is very wide, she especially loves operas by Verdi and Puccini. The Italian repertoire, perhaps due to the relative similarity of the Romanian and Italian languages, she does excellently, some critics note that French, German, Russian and English opera is performed weaker. The most important roles of Angela Gheorghiu: Bellini "Sleepwalker" - Amina Bizet "Carmen" - Michaela, Carmen Cilea "Adriana Lecouvreur" - Adriana Lecouvreur Donizetti "Lucia di Lammermoor" - Lucia Donizetti "Lucrezia Borgia" - Lucrezia Borgia Donizetti "Love Potion" - Adina Gounod "Faust" - Marguerite Gounod "Romeo and Juliet" - Juliet Massenet "Manon" - Manon Massenet "Werther" - Charlotte Mozart "Don Giovanni" - Zerlina Leoncavallo "Pagliacci" - Nedda Puccini "The Swallow" - Magda Puccini "La Boheme" - Mimi Puccini "Gianni Schicchi" - Loretta Puccini "Tosca" - Tosca Puccini "Turandot" - Liu Verdi Troubadour - Leonora Verdi "La Traviata" - Violetta Verdi "Luise Miller" - Luisa Verdi "Simon Boccanegra" - Maria Angela Gheorghiu continues to perform actively and is located at the top of the opera Olympus. Future engagements include various concerts in Europe, America and Asia, Tosca and Faust at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Salomeya Amvrosievna Krushelnitskaya is a famous Ukrainian opera singer (soprano), teacher. Even during her lifetime, Salome Krushelnitskaya was recognized as an outstanding singer in the world. She had an outstanding voice in terms of strength and beauty of a wide range (about three octaves with a free middle register), a musical memory (she could learn opera parts in two or three days), and a bright dramatic talent. The singer's repertoire included over 60 different parts. Among her many awards and distinctions, in particular, the title of "Wagner prima donna of the twentieth century." The Italian composer Giacomo Puccini presented the singer with his portrait with the inscription "beautiful and charming Butterfly". Salomeya Krushelnytska was born on September 23, 1872 in the village of Belyavintsy, now the Buchatsky district of the Ternopil region, in the family of a priest. Comes from a noble and ancient Ukrainian family. Since 1873, the family moved several times, in 1878 they moved to the village of Belaya near Ternopil, from where they never left. She started singing from a young age. As a child, Salome knew a lot of folk songs, which she learned directly from the peasants. She received the basics of musical training at the Ternopil gymnasium, where she took exams as an external student. Here she became close to the musical circle of high school students, of which Denis Sichinsky, later a well-known composer, the first professional musician in Western Ukraine, was also a member. In 1883, at the Shevchenko concert in Ternopil, the first public performance of Salome took place, she sang in the choir of the Russian conversation society. In Ternopil, Salomea Krushelnytska got acquainted with the theater for the first time. Here, from time to time, the Lvov theater of the Russian conversation society performed. In 1891, Salome entered the Lviv Conservatory. At the conservatory, her teacher was the then famous professor in Lviv, Valery Vysotsky, who brought up a whole galaxy of famous Ukrainian and Polish singers. While studying at the conservatory, her first solo performance took place, on April 13, 1892, the singer performed the main part in G. F. Handel's oratorio "Messiah". The first operatic debut of Salome Krushelnitskaya took place on April 15, 1893, she performed the role of Leonora in the performance of the Italian composer G. Donizetti's "Favorite" on the stage of the Lviv City Theater. In 1893 Krushelnytska graduated from the Lvov Conservatory. In Salome's graduation diploma, it was written: "This diploma is received by Panna Salomea Krushelnitskaya as evidence of an art education received by exemplary diligence and extraordinary success, especially at a public competition on June 24, 1893, for which she was awarded a silver medal. " While still studying at the conservatory, Salome Krushelnytska received an offer from the Lviv Opera House, but she decided to continue her education. Her decision was influenced by the famous Italian singer Gemma Bellinchoni, who was touring in Lviv at that time. In the fall of 1893, Salome leaves to study in Italy , where Professor Fausta Crespi became her teacher.In the process of studying, performances at concerts in which she sang opera arias were a good school for Salomea.In the second half of the 1890s, her triumphant performances on the stages of theaters of the world began: Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, Russia, Poland, Austria, Egypt, Argentina, Chile in the operas "Aida", "Il trovatore" by D. Verdi, "Faust" by C. Gounod, "The Terrible Yard" by S. Moniuszko, "The African Woman" by D. Meyerbeer, "Manon Lesko" and "Cio-Cio-San" by G. Puccini, "Carmen" by J. Bizet, "Electra" by R. Strauss, "Eugene Onegin" and "The Queen of Spades" by P.I. Milan's La Scala theater Giacomo Puccini presented his new opera Madama Butterfly. Never before had the composer been so sure of success... but the audience booed the opera indignantly. The celebrated maestro felt crushed. Friends persuaded Puccini to rework his work, and to invite Salome Krushelnitskaya to the main part. On May 29, on the stage of the Grande Theater in Brescia, the premiere of the updated Madama Butterfly took place, this time triumphant. The audience called the actors and the composer to the stage seven times. After the performance, touched and grateful, Puccini sent Krushelnitskaya his portrait with the inscription: "To the most beautiful and charming Butterfly." In 1910, S. Krushelnitskaya married the mayor of the city of Viareggio (Italy) and the lawyer Cesare Riccioni, who was a connoisseur of music and an erudite aristocrat. They were married in one of the temples of Buenos Aires. After the marriage, Cesare and Salome settled in Viareggio, where Salome bought a villa, which she called "Salome" and continued to tour. In 1920, Krushelnitskaya left the opera stage at the zenith of her fame, performing for the last time at the Naples Theater in her favorite operas Lorelei and Lohengrin. She devoted her further life to chamber concert activity, performing songs in 8 languages. She has toured Europe and America. All these years until 1923 she constantly came to her homeland and performed in Lvov, Ternopil and other cities of Galicia. She had strong ties of friendship with many figures in Western Ukraine. A special place in the creative activity of the singer was occupied by concerts dedicated to the memory of T. Shevchenko and I.Ya. Frank. In 1929, the last tour concert of S. Krushelnitskaya took place in Rome. In 1938, Krushelnitskaya's husband, Cesare Riccioni, died. In August 1939, the singer visited Galicia and, due to the outbreak of World War II, was unable to return to Italy. During the German occupation of Lviv, S. Krushelnytska was very poor, so she gave private vocal lessons. In the post-war period, S. Krushelnytska began working at the Lviv State Conservatory named after N.V. Lysenko. However, her teaching career barely started, almost ended. During the "cleansing of personnel from nationalist elements" she was accused of not having a conservatory diploma. Later, the diploma was found in the funds of the city historical museum. Living and teaching in the Soviet Union, Salomeya Amvrosievna, despite numerous appeals, for a long time could not obtain Soviet citizenship, remaining a subject of Italy. Finally, having written a statement about the transfer of her Italian villa and all property to the Soviet state, Krushelnitskaya became a citizen of the USSR. The villa was immediately sold, compensating the owner for a meager part of its value. In 1951, Salome Krushelnitskaya was awarded the title of Honored Art Worker of the Ukrainian SSR, and in October 1952, a month before her death, Krushelnitskaya received the title of professor. On November 16, 1952, the heart of the great singer stopped beating. She was buried in Lviv at the Lychakiv cemetery next to the grave of her friend and mentor, Ivan Franko. In 1993, a street was named after S. Krushelnytska in Lviv, where she lived the last years of her life. The memorial museum of Salomea Krushelnytska was opened in the singer's apartment. Today, the Lviv Opera House, the Lviv Musical Secondary School, the Ternopil Musical College (where the Salomeya newspaper is published), the 8-year-old school in the village of Belaya, the streets in Kiev, Lvov, Ternopil, Buchach are named after S. Krushelnytska (see Salomeya Krushelnytska Street ). In the Mirror Hall of the Lviv Opera and Ballet Theater there is a bronze monument to Salome Krushelnytska. Many artistic, musical and cinematographic works are dedicated to the life and work of Salomea Krushelnytska. In 1982, at the A. Dovzhenko film studio, director O. Fialko shot the historical and biographical film "The Return of the Butterfly" (based on the novel of the same name by V. Vrublevskaya), dedicated to the life and work of Salomea Krushelnitskaya. The picture is based on the real facts of the singer's life and is built as her memories. The parts of Salome are performed by Gisela Zipola. The role of Salome in the film was played by Elena Safonova. In addition, documentaries were created, in particular, "Salome Krushelnitskaya" (directed by I. Mudrak, Lvov, "Most", 1994) "Two Lives of Salome" (directed by A. Frolov, Kiev, "Contact", 1997), a telecast from cycle "Names" (2004), documentary film "Solo-mea" from the cycle "Game of Fate" (director V. Obraz, VIATEL studio, 2008). March 18, 2006 on the stage of the Lviv National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater named after S. Krushelnitskaya hosted the premiere of Miroslav Skorik's ballet "The Return of the Butterfly", based on facts from the life of Salomea Krushelnitskaya. The ballet uses the music of Giacomo Puccini. In 1995, the premiere of the play "Salome Krushelnytska" (author B. Melnichuk, I. Lyakhovsky) took place in the Ternopil Regional Drama Theater (now the academic theater). Since 1987, the Salomea Krushelnytska Competition has been held in Ternopil. Every year Lviv hosts the international competition named after Krushelnytska; festivals of opera art have become traditional.

Annette Dasch is a German opera singer and soprano. One of the leading contemporary German opera singers. Annette Dasch was born on March 24, 1976 in Berlin. Annette's parents, father, judge, and mother studied medicine, loved music and instilled this love in their four children. At home, traditionally, all family members played music and sang together, having matured, all the children became professional musicians: the eldest daughter - a concert pianist, younger brothers - one - a singer, bass-baritone, a member of the classic pop quintet "Adoro", the second - a music teacher . From childhood, Annette performed in the school vocal ensemble and dreamed of becoming a rock singer. She was also an active Scout and still enjoys hiking and hiking. In 1996, Annette moved to Munich to study vocals academically at the Munich Higher School of Music and Theatre. In 1998/99 she also took courses in music and drama at the University of Music and Theater in Graz (Austria). International success came in 2000 when she won three major international vocal competitions - the Maria Callas Competition in Barcelona, ​​the Schumann Songwriting Competition in Zwickau and the competition in Geneva. Since then, she has performed on the best opera stages in Germany and the world - at the Bavarian, Berlin, Dresden State Operas, the Paris Opera and the Champs Elysees, La Scala, Covent Garden, Tokyo Opera, the Metropolitan Opera and many others. In 2006, 2007, 2008 she performed at the Salzburg Festival, in 2010, 2011 at the Wagner Festival in Bayorot. The range of roles of Annette Dasch is quite wide, including the roles of Armida ("Armida", Haydn), Gretel ("Hansel and Gretel", Humperdinck), Goose Girls ("Royal Children", Humperdinck), Fiordiligi ("Everybody Does It So" , Mozart), Elvira ("Don Giovanni", Mozart), Elvira ("Idomeneo", Mozart), Countess ("The Marriage of Figaro", Mozart), Pamina ("The Magic Flute", Mozart), Anthony ("Hoffmann's Tales", Offenbach), Liu ("Turandot", Puccini), Rosalind ("The Bat", Strauss), Freya ("Gold of the Rhine", Wagner), Elsa ("Lohengrin", Wagner) and others. Annette Dasch is not only an opera singer, she still performs oratorios and gives concerts. Her repertoire includes songs by Beethoven, Britten, Haydn, Gluck, Handel, Schumann, Mahler, Mendelssohn and others. The singer held her last concerts in all major European cities (for example, in Berlin, Barcelona, ​​Vienna, Paris, London, Parma, Florence, Amsterdam, Brussels), performed at the Schubertiade festivals in Schwarzenberg, early music festivals in Innsbruck and Nantes, as well as other prestigious festivals. Since 2008, Annette Dasch has been hosting her very popular television entertainment music show "Dash Salon", whose name in German is consonant with the word "laundry" (Waschsalon). Season 2011/2012 Annete Dasch opened a European tour with recitals, upcoming opera commitments include the role of Elvira from Don Giovanni at the Metropolitan Opera in spring 2012, then the role of Madame Pompadour in Vienna, a tour with the Vienna Opera in Japan with a role in The Merry Widow ", also another performance at the Bayorot festival.

Odessa National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater is one of the oldest opera houses in Ukraine. The opening of the first theater building took place in 1810. The modern building was built in 1887 by the architects F. Felner and G. Gelmer (Bureau Felner & Helmer) in the Viennese Baroque style. The complete restoration of the theater building was completed in 2007. Stage area - 500 sq. meters, the number of seats - 1636. The theater was conducted by P.I. Tchaikovsky, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, S.V. Pavlova and Isadora Duncan. Among the outstanding soloists of the theater - A. Azrikan. The successful productions of the theater troupe included: Carmen, La Traviata, Trovatore, Rigoletto, Cossack beyond the Danube, Cio-Cio-San, Natalka-Poltavka, Giselle, The Nutcracker , "Sleeping Beauty". Alexander Pushkin mentioned the Odessa Theater in the novel "Eugene Onegin". For the 120th anniversary of the theatre, the National Bank of Ukraine issued commemorative coins. The Opera and Ballet Theater can be called the oldest among the cultural institutions of the city. Odessa received the right to build a theater in 1804, and in 1809 it was already built. The author of this project is the famous French architect Thomas de Thomon, who at that time built a number of buildings in St. Petersburg. On February 10, 1810, the grand opening took place. The first performance was Frohlich's one-act opera The New Family and the vaudeville The Comforted Widow by the Russian troupe P.V. Fortunatov. In 1873 the old theater burned down completely. Fortunately, none of the people were hurt. The Viennese architects F. Felner and G. Gelmer proposed to create a project for a new city theater, according to whose projects theaters were built in many European cities (Vienna, Budapest, Dresden, Zagreb, etc.). Almost 11 years passed from the moment of the fire to the laying of the first stone in the foundation of the new theater. The opening of the theater took place on October 1, 1887. In March 1925, as a result of a new fire, the stage completely burned down and the hall was damaged. The theater was rebuilt in a short time, and performances resumed a year later. The stage received new technical equipment, two reinforced concrete curtains were installed, cutting off the stage from the audience hall and service premises if necessary. As the inscription on the memorial plaque testifies, on April 10, 1944, the banner of the liberation of the city from the Nazi invaders was raised on the balcony of the theater (by the way, the Germans planned to blow up the theater during the retreat). The Odessa Opera House is famous, first of all, for its architecture, and in terms of its layout and technical data it is not inferior to the best theaters in Europe. In plan, the building consists of a horseshoe-shaped audience hall, covered by galleries, a foyer and a rectangular stage with utility rooms. Along the longitudinal axis of the building there is a two-tier portal of the main entrance with a high attic, along the transverse axis there are three-arcade galleries of side entrances. The layout is radial - from the center along the radii in different directions, passages to the exit are laid. Stairs leading directly to the theater exit also have tiers. The building is covered with a system of metal trusses, zinc coating. The roof of the audience hall resembles the surface of a part of an ellipsoid, cut off by planes along the horizontal and vertical axes of symmetry; it is crowned with a round lantern with a dome, completed with a low spire. The theater building is made in the Viennese baroque style. Externally structurally consists of 3 floors. The 1st (basement) and 2nd, decorated only with Tuscan columns in the loggias, form one whole, look cumbersome and fundamental, giving the building a static look. The 3rd floor, lighter, openwork, with refined details, with arched loggias, columns and pilasters of the Ionic order, conceals the heaviness of the lower floors and creates the illusion of lightness. Additional effects are made by an elegant portico and a domed roof. The building seems to "float" above the ground. Above the facade rises a sculptural group depicting the muse of theatrical tragedy Melpomene in a chariot harnessed by 4 panthers conquered by her. Below are two also mythological sculptural groups: on the left, Orpheus plays the cithara for the centaur, on the right, the dance muse Terpsichore dances with a girl. On the pediment of the portico, several dates are indicated in Roman numerals: the first line - the dates of the beginning and end of the construction of the theater (1884 - 1887), the second line - the phrase "the theater was on fire" and the year 1925, then the year 1967 and the word "reconstruction". Along the central entrance there are sculptural groups representing Comedy and Tragedy: on the left is a fragment of Euripides' tragedy Hippolytus, on the right is an episode from Aristophanes' comedy The Birds. Along the pediment in the round niches of the upper floor there are busts of Russian writers and composers: A. Pushkin, M. Glinka, A. Griboyedov, N. Gogol (sculptors - F. Netali and F. Friedl, stucco - L. Strictius under the direction of F. Etel ). The most beautiful part of the building - the interior, first of all, the hall of spectators, was created in the style of the late French rococo and decorated with stucco gilded ornaments. The composition decorating the ceiling is based on 4 medallion paintings by Leffler based on Shakespeare's stories ("Hamlet", "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "Winter's Tale", "As You Like It"). A large chandelier in the center of the ceiling strikes with the elegance of openwork details. The graceful stucco molding in the tiers, side vestibules and along the stairs leading to the boxes, original lamps, candelabra and bronze inlay ornaments attract attention. The curtain, created according to the sketch of A. Golovin, strikes with its taste. Stage area - 500 sq. meters. The unique acoustics of the room allows you to convey even a whisper from the stage to every corner of the hall. In the hall, seats for spectators are located in the stalls, boxes of the benoir, mezzanine, 1st and 2nd tiers and in the gallery. Among the boxes, the "royal" box stands out - in the center of the mezzanine, directly opposite the stage. In the 1st row, it has 12 seats. In order to stop the settlement of the building and the formation of cracks in its supporting structures, in 1951-1956, work was done to strengthen the foundation of the theater by silicifying it with liquid glass (about 6 million liters of molten glass were poured through the pits into the foundation). In 1965 -1967 - a complete restoration of the theater, both outside and inside. The government of the USSR spent 4 million rubles and 9 kg of pure gold leaf. However, these measures did not help for long - the theater was built on sedimentary rocks, so the process of its destruction continued. By the mid-1990s, the building fell into a catastrophic state, and in 1996 the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine allocated funds for a new major restoration. The completion of the work was first planned for 1999, and then repeatedly postponed due to lack of funds. The foundation was strengthened by pouring reinforced concrete piles. A complete restoration of the building was completed in 2007. The theater has made great contributions to the development of musical culture in the South of Ukraine. P.I. Tchaikovsky, M.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, S.V. Rakhmaninov, Eugene Ysaye, Pablo Sarasate and others performed their works here, Enrico Caruso, Fyodor Chaliapin, Solomeya Krushelnitskaya, Antonina Nezhdanova, Leonid Sobinov, J. Anselmi, Titta Ruffo, Mattia Battistini, L. Geraldoni, Anna Pavlova, Isadora Duncan, E.V. Geltser danced. The conductors of performances and symphony concerts were A.G. Rubinshtein, E.F. Napravnik, A.S. Arensky, A. K. Glazunov and others. In 1926, the theater was awarded the title of "academic", in 2007 it was given the status of "national". The theater hosts symphony concerts, in particular organ concerts, because the theater has the best acoustic data in the city and a built-in organ. For several decades, the theater has been operating a children's ballet school - a unique creative institution in the city and a "forge of personnel" for the ballet troupe of the theater. The theater has a large opera troupe, among which one can note: People's Artist of Ukraine Anatoly Boyko (bass), People's Artist of Ukraine Valentina Vasilyeva (mezzo-soprano), People's Artist of Ukraine Anatoly Kapustin (tenor), People's Artist of Ukraine Lyudmila Shirina (soprano). The ballet troupe of the theater consists of 50 people. Honored Artists of Ukraine Andrey Musorin and Elena Kamenskikh, participants of Rudolf Nuriyev's Farewell Tour, stand out among them. The chief conductor of the Odessa National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater is Professor, People's Artist of Ukraine Yarema Antonovich Skibinsky. The ballet dancers have toured Canada, Japan, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, China, Hungary, Bulgaria, Finland, South Korea, Italy, Spain, Portugal - with Maya Plisetskaya, Indonesia, Switzerland, Sweden and other countries. Among the most famous and successful productions of modern theater are the following performances: "Carmen", "La Traviata", "Il trovatore", "Rigoletto", "Zaporozhets beyond the Danube", "Cio-Cio-San", "Natalka-Poltavka", " Giselle", "The Nutcracker", "Sleeping Beauty". At these performances, the hall is usually full. Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin "Eugene Onegin" (section "Excerpts from Onegin's Journey"). But the blue evening is already getting dark, It's time for us to the opera soon: There is the delightful Rossini, Europe's minion - Orpheus ... ... But is there only charms there? And the investigative lorgnette? What about backstage dates? A prima donna? what about ballet?

Teatro Carlo Felice is the main opera house in Genoa, Italy. The theater is located in the city center, near Ferrari Square and is a symbol of the city. An equestrian monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi is installed in front of the theater. The decision to build a new opera house in Genoa was made in 1824, when it became clear that the existing city theaters did not meet the needs of the city. The new theater was supposed to stand in the same row and compete with the best opera houses in Europe. An architectural competition was announced, at which they chose the design of the building of the opera house by local architect Carlo Barbarino, a little later, the famous Milanese Luigi Canonica was additionally invited to build the stage and hall, who had already participated in several major projects - the restoration of La Scala, the construction of theaters in Milan , Cremona, Brescia, etc. For the theater, a place was chosen on which there was a former Dominican monastery and the church of San Domenico. This monastery complex, since the thirteenth century, has been known for its architectural grandeur and precious works of art for its interior decoration. Some argue that the monastery was "sacrificed" to the theatre, but this is not true. Back in the days of Napoleon's "Kingdom of Italy", the barracks and warehouses of his army were located in the monastery. The complex was very dilapidated and in 1821, according to the plan for the reconstruction of the city, it was completely demolished, and the decision to build a theater was made in 1824. The first stone of the new building was laid on March 19, 1826. The grand opening took place on April 7, 1828, although the construction and decoration were not quite finished. The first opera on the theater stage was "Bianca and Fernando" by Vincenzo Belinni. The theater is named after Duke Carlo Felice of Savoy, ruler of Genoa. The five-tier hall could accommodate about 2500 spectators. In subsequent years, the theater was restored several times, in 1852 gas lighting was installed, in 1892 - electric lighting. For almost forty years, since 1853, Giuseppe Verdi spent the winters in Genoa and repeatedly staged his operas at the Carlo Felice Theater. In 1892, after a reconstruction to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus (Genoa disputes the right to be considered the small homeland of Columbus), Verdi was asked to compose a suitable opera for this event and stage it in the theater, but he refused, citing his advanced age. The theater of Carlo Felice was constantly updated and remained in good condition until the Second World War. The first damage was inflicted in 1941, when the roof of the building was destroyed from the shelling of the Allied troops and the unique ceiling painting of the auditorium was severely damaged. Then in August 1943, after being hit by an incendiary bomb, the backstage premises burned out, the scenery and dressing rooms were destroyed, but the fire did not affect the main hall, unfortunately, at that time the theater suffered more from robbers who stole many valuable things. Finally, in September 1944, after an air raid, practically only the walls remained of the theater. The theater, hastily repaired, continued its activities all this time, and even Maria Callas performed in it. Plans for a major restoration of the theater building began in 1946. In 1951, one project was selected on the basis of a competition, but it never came to fruition. The theater was closed in the early 1960s due to disrepair. In 1963, the famous architect Carlo Scarpa was entrusted to develop a reconstruction project, but he delayed the work and the project was ready only in 1977, however, due to the unexpected death of the architect in 1978, the project was stopped. The next plan was adopted in 1984, Aldo Rossi was chosen as the main architect of the new theater Carlo Felice. The main leitmotif of the developers was the combination of history and modernity. The walls of the old theater and the facade with bas-reliefs were left, as well as some elements of the interior decoration, which managed to fit into the new interior, however, for the most part the theater was rebuilt from scratch. On April 7, 1987, the foundation stone of the new theater was laid. Behind the old theatre, a new high-rise building was added to house stages, mobile platform controls, rehearsal rooms and dressing rooms. The auditorium itself is located in the "old" theater, the architects' goal was to recreate the atmosphere of the old theater square, when the performances were held on the street in the city center. Therefore, windows and balconies were made on the walls of the hall, imitating the outer walls of buildings, and the ceiling is dotted with a "starry sky". On October 18, 1991, the curtain of the Teatro Carlo Felice finally rose, the first opening event of the season was Giuseppe Verdi's Il trovatore. The Teatro Carlo Felice is one of the largest opera houses in Europe, with a capacity of 2000 seats in the main hall.

Lyon Opera or Opera Nouvel (Opera de Lyon, opera Nouvel) is a modern opera and ballet theater in Lyon, France. It is named after the famous French architect Jean Nouvel who designed the building. Operated by the state company National Opera of Lyon. The first opera house was opened in Lyon in 1756, it was designed by the architect Jacques-Germain Soufflot, author of the Panthéon in Paris. By the beginning of the next century, the theater was too small and in 1826 it was demolished, and the new Lyon Opera House was erected in its place. The architects were Antoine-Marie Chenavar and Jean-Marie Pollet. The new theater had about 1200 seats. On July 1, 1831, the theater was opened with the opera "The White Lady" by François-Adrien Boildieu, by the way, this French composer worked in St. Petersburg for a long time. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Lyon Theater hosted several French premieres, including R. Wagner's The Nuremberg Mastersingers and M. P. Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, as well as the world premiere of A. Schoenberg's "Waiting" and others . In 1985, the city decided to rebuild the opera house on the same site and a competition was announced. According to the results of the competition, the construction of the building was entrusted to the outstanding French architect Jean Nouvel. Construction began in 1989 and ended in 1993. From the existing building in 1831, the shell was left - walls, facade and foyer. All the internal premises of the theater were completely redone, underground floors were added for rehearsal rooms and the height of the building was doubled due to a semi-cylindrical glass dome, which mainly houses the ballet troupe. The total height of the building with 5 underground floors, a depth of 20 meters, and a 6-storey dome is 62 meters, the volume is about 80,000 sq.m. The appearance of the building, mainly due to the ink-colored top dome, was initially heavily criticized, is now part of the cityscape and is well received by the townspeople. The facade left from the previous building is decorated with eight statues of muses, the muse Urania is missing for two reasons - firstly, for symmetry, and secondly, Urania is not related to opera art. The auditorium was built in the traditional Italian style, horseshoe-shaped and 6 tiers of balconies, the capacity of the hall is about 1100 seats, which was also a reason for criticism, since it is believed that for Lyon this is a small capacity and the stage is poorly visible from some seats. The current Principal Conductor of the Opéra de Lyon is the Japanese conductor Kazushi Ono.

The Grand Theater La Fenice ("Phoenix") (Gran Teatro La Fenice) is an opera house in Venice, repeatedly destroyed by fire and rebuilt. The theater is the venue for the International Festival of Contemporary Music. The Teatro La Fenice was built between 1790 and 1792. The name "Phoenix" reflects the fact that the theater was "reborn from the ashes" twice. In 1774, the leading Venetian opera house of the time, San Benedetto, burned to the ground. The management company restored it, but lost the dispute with its owner in court and again lost the theater. As a result, the company decided to build its own new opera house. Construction began in June 1790 and was completed in May 1792. The theater was named "La Fenice", testifying to the revival. It was opened on May 16, 1792 with Paisiello's opera The Games of Agrigentum. On December 13, 1836, the theater was destroyed by fire, but quickly restored to its original model, under the direction of the architects Tommaso and Giambattista Medun. A year later, in 1837, the theater reopened its doors. In the nineteenth century, La Fenice became the venue for the premieres of many operas by prominent Italian authors, in particular Gioacchino Rossini (Tancred, 1813, Semiramide, 1823), Vincenzo Bellini (Capulets and Montecchis, 1830, Beatrice di Tandi, 1833). ) and Giuseppe Verdi (Ernani, 1843, Attila, 1846, Rigoletto, 1851, La Traviata, 1853, Simon Boccanegra, 1857). The premiere of La Traviata was initially booed by the audience in Phoenix. In 1930, the Venice Biennale initiated the first international festival of contemporary music. In 1937 the theater was reconstructed according to the project of Eugenio Miozzo. Outstanding premieres of the 20th century were productions of the opera The Rake's Progress by I. Stravinsky (1951) and The Turn of the Screw by B. Britten. On January 29, 1996, the theater building was again destroyed by fire, set on fire by the electrician Enrico Carella, who was trying to avoid contractual penalties for delays in work. With state support, the theater was restored and solemnly opened on December 14, 2003. The choir and orchestra of La Scala, conducted by Muti, performed at the opening. The program of celebrations on the occasion of the revival of Fenice included the best orchestras in the world, including the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Yuri Temirkanov, who performed works by Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky.

The Metropolitan Opera is a musical theater at Lincoln Center in New York, New York, United States. The largest opera house in the world. It is often referred to as "The Met" for short. The theater belongs to the most famous opera stages in the world. The artistic director of the theater is James Levine. CEO - Peter Gelb. Created at the expense of the Metropolitan Opera House Company. Subsidized by wealthy firms, individuals. The Metropolitan Opera opened with a performance of Charles Gounod's Faust on October 22, 1883, with Swedish soprano Christina Nilsson as the female lead. The theater is open seven months a year: from September to April. About 27 operas are staged per season. Performances are held daily, in total about 220 performances. From May to June the theater goes on tour. In addition, in July, the theater gives free performances in the parks of New York, gathering a huge number of spectators. There are regular live radio and TV broadcasts. The orchestra and choir of the theater work on a permanent basis, and soloists and conductors are invited under a contract for a season or for certain performances. Operas are traditionally performed in their original language. The basis of the repertoire is the world classics, including Russian composers. The first Metropolitan Opera, designed by J. Cleveland Cudi, was located on Broadway, between 39th and 40th streets. In 1966, the theater moved to the new Lincoln Center in Manhattan and has one main stage and three auxiliary ones. The main auditorium has a capacity of 3,800 seats and, despite its size, is known for its excellent acoustics.

The State Chamber Musical Theater "St. Petersburg Opera" is an opera house in St. Petersburg, Russia. The theater is located in a small but very cozy mansion of Baron von Derviz. The Chamber Musical Theater was founded in 1987 in Leningrad by the leading musical director of Russia, who gained fame as an innovator of opera art, Honored Artist of Russia, laureate of the National Theater Award "Golden Mask", "Golden Soffit", People's Artist of Russia YURI ALEKSANDROV. The creative laboratory of the St. Petersburg Opera, as originally conceived by the director, over time was reorganized into a professional State Theater, well known not only in our country, but also far beyond the Russian opera space. Despite its youth, the theater already has a rich creative biography. For twenty-three seasons, the Chamber Theater has formed as a single creative organism with a unique, original program. The theater troupe includes talented soloists and musicians, many of whom are Honored Artists of Russia, laureates and students of International and All-Russian competitions. The repertoire of the St. Petersburg Opera presents the entire palette of genres of opera art - from comic opera, buff opera to musical dramas, including operas by contemporary authors: "The Game of Robin and Marion" by Adam de la Alle, "Falcon" by Bortnyansky, "White rose" by Zimmermann, "I Believe" by Piguzov, "Spotted Dog Running by the Edge of the Sea", "The Fifth Voyage of Christopher Columbus" by Smelkov, "Bell", "Rita" by Donizetti, "Eugene Onegin" by Tchaikovsky, "Boris Godunov" by Mussorgsky (in 1996 nominated for the National Theater Award "Golden Mask"), "Players - 1942" by Shostakovich (in 1997 he was awarded the Highest Theater Award of St. award "Golden Mask"), "Rigoletto" by Verdi (in 1998 nominated for the National Theater Award "Golden Mask"), "Song of Love and Death by Cornet Christoph Rilke" Mattus (in 1999 was awarded the National Theater Award "Golden Mask" in nominations "Best Opera Performance"), "The Queen of Spades" by Tchaikovsky (in 2000 nominated for the National Theater Award "Golden Mask"), "The Beautiful Elena" by Offenbach, "Antiformalistic Paradise" by Shostakovich, "Adrienne Lecouvreur" by Cilea, "Don Pasquale" , "Peter the Great - the Tsar of All Russia, or the Carpenter from Livonia" by Donizetti, "Gianni Schicchi" by Puccini and others. The St. Petersburg Opera Theater staged productions of operas that are staged in St. Petersburg only on the stage of the Chamber Theater - Rita, The Bell, Donizetti, Bortnyansky's The Falcon, Cimarosa's The Secret Marriage, The Gamblers - 1942, The Anti-Formalist Paradise "Shostakovich, "Adrienne Lecouvreur" Cilea, "Peter the Great - the Tsar of All Russia, or the Carpenter from Livonia" by Donizetti. In 1997, the theater organized and held the Gaetano Donizetti Music Festival, at which the Italian composer's Requiem was performed for the first time in Russia. in the center of old St. Petersburg on Galernaya Street, 33. The opening of the restored building took place on the day of the anniversary of St. Petersburg - May 27, 2003. And the first premiere, which began a new round in the history of the St. Petersburg Opera, became a European musical sensation - a playful melodrama by Gaetano Donizetti " Peter the Great is the Tsar of All Russia, or the Carpenter from Livonia. A small cozy mansion on Galernaya Street, which belonged at the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries to Baron S.P. von Derviz, has a rich musical and theatrical history. At the end of the 19th century, performances of the "House of Interludes" were staged here, which were staged by Vsevolod Meyerhold, who worked at that time under the pseudonym "Doctor Dapertutto". They were attended by the poet and musician M. Kuzmin, artists N. Sapunov and S. Sudeikin, artists N. Petrov, B. Kazarova-Volkova. K. Stanislavsky, Vl.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, E. Vakhtangov, A. Chekhov and many other artists. Since 1915, the house began to be called the "Concert and Theater Hall", in which concerts were held with the participation of F. Chaliapin, L. Sobinov, A. Duncan. Concerts and performances were held in the large White Hall with a specially equipped stage. Here, miraculously (after club events organized in Soviet times), the interior has been preserved: baroque stucco walls with sculptures symbolizing arts, a soaring Genius with a lyre in his hands above the richly decorated stage portal, the coat of arms of the von Derviz on the windows of the front doors. Other interiors of the mansion have also been preserved: a luxurious Moorish drawing room, covered with gilded ornaments, decorated with a picturesque panel Maple drawing room, made in the form of a bizarre grotto Winter Garden. The first owner of the mansion was the famous statesman of the first half of the 18th century, Cabinet Minister under Anna Ioannovna A. P. Volynsky, who was executed in 1740 for participating in a conspiracy against Duke Biron. Then his daughter, who married Count I.I., owned the house. Vorontsov. At one time the house belonged to the merchants Schneider, Balabin, then Prince Repin. In 1870, the architect F.L. Miller remodels the façade and builds on another building. In 1883 the house was bought by Baron S.P. von Derviz. Architect P.P. Schreiber rebuilds the houses on the side of the English Embankment and Galernaya Street, uniting them with a common facade. Sergei Pavlovich von Derviz (1863 - 1918) - a descendant of the ancient Wiese family, originating from Germany. In the middle of the 18th century, John-Adolf Wiese, who served in Sweden, entered the Russian service as a legal adviser and was elevated to the nobility by the Holy Roman Empire, with the addition of "von der". Son Sergei had the rank of real privy councilor and the title of chamberlain of the highest court. He owned mines and estates in the Kyiv, Ryazan and Orienburg provinces. He, like his mother, became famous for his charitable work. The main attention was paid to the interiors of the house, which, according to the fashion of that time, were made in different styles. In 1902, the house on the side of the embankment was built on two floors, while losing the appearance of a mansion. In 1909 S.P. von Derviz sold the house, dividing it into three parts. The first was bought by the wife of Lieutenant General A.A. Ignatieva, left (including the mansion on Galernaya) - N.N. Shebeko. The mansion was reconstructed according to the project of the architect A.P. Maksimov and in this form has reached our days. In 1911 - 1913, the "House of Interludes" by V. Meyerhold was located here - an innovative, bohemian theater-restaurant with a unique repertoire. Since 1913 - the theater hall of N. Shebeko. After the revolution - the district committee of the RCPb, the Union of Metalworkers, the Estonian House of Education. From 1946 to 1991 - the club "Mayak". On May 27, 2003, on the day of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, after a long restoration, the mansion again became a theater house. Opera and symphonic music sounds here, new productions of the St. Petersburg Opera theater are born, which was founded and directed by Yuri Alexandrov. Information from the official website of the theater: http://www.spbopera.ru

Yekaterinburg State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater is an opera and ballet theater in Yekaterinburg, Russia. For the first time, an opera troupe appeared in Yekaterinburg in the season of 1879-1880: it was brought by the famous Russian entrepreneur P. M. Medvedev. In the future, opera entreprises were repeated more than once, and in the 70s of the XIX century, representatives of the local intelligentsia organized the Yekaterinburg Music Circle. Since 1907, opera entreprises in Yekaterinburg have become annual. In 1912, a special theater building (an auditorium for 1,200 seats) was built on Drovyanaya Square (now Paris Commune Square) on the site of a wooden circus building that had existed since 1896. The City Theater (during the Soviet era, the A.V. Lunacharsky Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre) was designed by the Pyatigorsk civil architect Vladimir Nikolaevich Semyonov, similar to the well-known Vienna and Odessa Opera Houses. In 1904, at the age of thirty, Semyonov won a competition to create a project for the Opera and Ballet Theater in Yekaterinburg, the construction of which was completed in 1912. The theater opened with Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka's opera A Life for the Tsar (09/02/10/12/1912). The first chief conductor - S. Barbini. The staging of The Magic Flute by Ricardo Drigo (1914) began the annals of the ballet. After the October Revolution, the theater opened in 1919. In 1922, a ballet troupe was created, the first performance of the troupe was Delibes' Coppélia. Since 1924 - the State Opera Theater named after A.V. Lunacharsky. In 1925-26, the famous singer and opera director Alexander Ivanovich Ulukhanov became the chief director, he staged the operas The Tale of Tsar Saltan and Werther. Since 1931, the theater has a new name - the Sverdlovsk Opera and Ballet Theater. A.V. Lunacharsky. In 1962, the theater was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, and since 1966 it has become an academic theater. In 1981-82, a significant reconstruction of the building was carried out, which was completed by December 26, 1982. From 1983 to 1985, under the guidance of the architect and artist Georgy Shishkin (the author of the project), work was carried out to create a museum of the theater: an interior and a permanent exhibition, including original space-console structures with exhibits, two large wall paintings and a gallery of portraits of theater soloists, made by by this artist. The rich traditions of private entreprises, touring troupes and city musical circles helped the theater quickly gain confidence and a big name. In Soviet times, it was called the "laboratory of the Soviet opera", and often the poster appeared on the poster "The right of the first production belongs to the theater." In Soviet times, outstanding craftsmen worked here. In Yekaterinburg, later famous singers - People's Artists of the USSR: I. Kozlovsky, S. Lemeshev, I. Arkhipova, B. Shtokolov began their career. The theater was twice awarded the State Prize of the USSR: in 1946 (Stalin Prize) the first of the peripheral ones for staging the opera Othello and in 1987 for the stage birth of V. Kobekin's opera The Prophet. The tour routes of the troupe - more than a hundred cities of the USSR, participation in many theater festivals, including those abroad. In the 1990s, the theater was in crisis. In 2006, with the advent of a new director, the theater received a second birth. The musical director of the theater is Sergey Stadler. The theater orchestra led by him is a professional team, which includes honored artists of Russia, laureates of All-Russian and International competitions. The theater has established cultural ties and creative contacts with Italy, Germany, the USA, England, Korea, etc. Eminent guest performers often perform on its stage, and international music festivals are held. Information from the theater website http://www.uralopera.ru/ In fact, the history of the Yekaterinburg theater began long before the first brick was laid in the foundation of this luxurious building. In the seventies of the 19th century, the stage of the first city theater (now the cinema "Coliseum") hosted first-class metropolitan opera entreprises. Having passed an excellent audience school, in 1874 local lovers of this genre organized a musical circle, the only one in the whole country, according to the press of the beginning of the century, where luxurious opera productions were created on their own, the most complex musical scores came to life. Trembling love and veneration of the opera then made the city authorities think about building their own opera house. In 1912, the New City Theater opened its first season with Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka's opera A Life for the Tsar (conductor S. Barbini, director A. Altshuller). The first ballet performance (“The Magic Flute” by R. Drigo, choreographer - F. Troyanovsky) is dated 1914 (although the name “Opera and Ballet Theatre” appeared only in 1931). The rich traditions of private entreprises, touring troupes and city musical circles helped the theater quickly gain confidence and a big name. A decade later, among the peripheral theaters of the young Soviet country, Yekaterinburg (then Sverdlovsk) began to be mentioned. Since the mid-1920s, the Sverdlovsk Opera House has been gaining fame and fame as one of the best in the country, primarily due to the constant presence of talented musicians and performers in the troupe. Outstanding craftsmen have worked here at all times. Singers Sergei Lemeshev, Ivan Kozlovsky, the Pirogov brothers, conductor Ary Pazovsky, directors Vladimir Lossky and Leonid Baratov began their career in Yekaterinburg. "School of personnel" - such a definition was assigned to the troupe, which did not escape the fate of all provincial Russian theaters to become a nursery for young talents. Do not count the number of "losses": opera artists Irina Arkhipova, Boris Shtokolov, Yuri Gulyaev, Evgenia Altukhova, ballet dancers Nina Mlodzinskaya, Vladimir Preobrazhensky, Alexander Tomsky, Nina Menovshchikova. Among the subsequent “losses” are the conductors Kirill Tikhonov, one of the founders of the Helikon Opera, and Evgeny Kolobov, the founder of the Novaya Opera; chief director and artistic director of the opera at the Moscow Musical Theatre. K.S.Stanislavsky and Vl.I.Nemirovich-Danchenko Alexander Titel; world stars Vladimir Ognovenko and Galina Gorchakova; soloist of the Bolshoi Theater Andrey Grigoriev; soloist of "Helikon-Opera" Andrey Vylegzhanin; singer Elena Voznesenskaya, soloist of the Russian Ballet Marina Bogdanova and many, many others... The peak of the enthusiasm of the Yekaterinburg public was associated first with the name of the talented conductor Yevgeny Kolobov, and then with the creative tandem of conductor Yevgeny Brazhnik and director Alexander Titel. Evgeny Kolobov spent the happiest years of his biography at the Yekaterinburg Opera and Ballet Theatre, years full of genuine creativity, the results of which will be remembered for a very long time by opera lovers and professional musicians who were lucky enough to become witnesses and co-creators of such musical events as opera productions. Andrei Petrov's "Peter I" (conductor E. Kolobov, director Y. Petrov, artist M. Mukoseeva) and Giuseppe Verdi's "The Power of Destiny" (conductor E. Kolobov, director S. Stein, artist I. Sevastyanov). Performances Boris Godunov by Modest Mussorgsky (conductor Brazhnik, director A. Titel, artist E. Heidebrecht), Vladimir Kobekin’s The Prophet (conductor Brazhnik, director A. Titel, artists E. Heidebrecht and Y. Ustinov), Tales of Hoffmann Jacques Offenbach (conductor Brazhnik, director A. Titel, artist V. Leventhal) were the best created by the union of Alexander Titel and Yevgeny Brazhnik. They fixed the term "Sverdlovsk phenomenon" for many years. In recent years, the Yekaterinburg Opera and Ballet Theater has proved that it can set itself a wide variety of creative tasks and achieve high-quality results. The operas Eugene Onegin, Mazepa, Iolanta, Aleko by P. Tchaikovsky, "The Tsar's Bride" by N. Rimsky-Korsakov, "Prince Igor" by A. Borodin, "The Magic Flute" by W. A. ​​Mozart, "Il Trovatore", "La Traviata", "Rigoletto", "Falstaff" by G. Verdi, " Madama Butterfly”, “La Boheme” by G. Puccini, “Daughter of the Regiment” by G. Donizetti, “The Barber of Seville” by G. Rossini, “The Little Mermaid” by A. Dvorak, ballets “Swan Lake”, “The Nutcracker” by P. Tchaikovsky, “Scheherazade” N. Rimsky-Korsakov, "The Creation of the World" by A. Petrov, "A Thousand and One Nights" by F. Amirov, "Don Quixote" by L. Minkus, "The Great Waltz" by I. Strauss. Time is constantly changing something in the theater. Each theatrical season brings new victories and achievements, gives birth to new projects and performances. Among the latest theatrical premieres are The Snow Maiden by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov (conductor Vello Pyakhn, stage director Alexei Stepanyuk, production designer Igor Ivanov, choirmaster Elvira Gaifullina), La Traviata by G. Verdi (conductor stage director Alexei Lyudmilin, stage director Alexei Stepanyuk, scenery made under the direction of Ravil Akhmetzyanov, costume designer Natalia Stepanova), Corsa by A. Adam (choreographer Jean-Guillaume Bart, conductor Michael Güttler, stage designer Elena Khailova ), “Tosca” by G. Puccini (conductor-producer Michael Güttler, director-producer Irkin Gabitov, production designer Mikhail Kurilko-Ryumin), folk musical drama “Khovanshchina” by M.P. Mussorgsky (conductor-producer Sergei Stadler, director- stage director Boris Morozov, stage designer Igor Ivanov, choirmaster Valery Kopanev), Madama Butterfly by G. Puccini (stage conductor Mikhail Granovsky, stage director Alexei Stepanyuk, stage designer Dmitry Cherbadzhi, choirmaster Valery Kopanev), The Stone Flower by S. Prokofiev (choreographer Andrey Petrov, conductor Sergei Stadler, production designer Stanislav Benediktov, costume designer Olga Polyanskaya), The Queen of Spades by P. Tchaikovsky (conductor Mikhail Granovsky, director Alexei Stepanyuk, production designer Igor Ivanov, choirmasters Elvira Gaifullina, choreographer Galina Kaloshina), A. Adam "Giselle" (stage version and production - People's Artist of the USSR, laureate of the State Prize of the USSR Lyudmila Semenyaka, conductor - Honored artist of Russia Alexei Lyudmilin, production designer - People's Artist of Russia, laureate of the State Prize of Russia Stanislav Benediktov, costume designer - People's Artist of the USSR, laureate of the State Prize of the USSR Lyudmila Semenyaka), V. A. Mozart "The Marriage of Figaro" (conductor-producer Fabio Mastrangelo, director-producer - Honored Artist of Russia Irkin Gabitov, production designer - Honored Artist of Russia Vyacheslav Okunev, lighting designer - Honored Artist of Russia Damir Ismagilov, choirmaster-producer - Honored Art Worker of Russia Valery Kopanev, choreographer Alexandra Tikhomirova), P. Bulbul oglu "Love and Death" (choreographer - Honored Art Worker of Russia Nadezhda Malygina, conductor Fabio Mastrangelo, production designer - Honored Artist of Russia, laureate State Prize of the USSR Igor Ivanov).

Buryat State Order of Lenin Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet named after N.A. USSR G.Ts. Tsydynzhapov - musical theater in the city of Ulan-Ude. Theater history. In the 1920s, a music school and mobile music courses appeared in Buryatia. In 1929, a music and theater studio was opened in Ulan-Ude, on the basis of which a technical school of arts was created in 1931. In the early years, composers worked in the musical theater of Buryatia: P.M. Berlinsky, M.P. Frolov, V.I. Moroshkin (1909-1942), choreographers: I.A. Moiseev, M.S. Arseniev, conductor M.A. Buchbinder, teachers: T. Glyazer, V. Ordinary, directors: I. Tumanov, A.V. Mironsky (1899-1955), actor and director G.Ts. Tsydynzhapov, artists: G.L. Kigel, A. Timin and others. In 1938, the first national musical drama “Bair” by P. Berlinsky was staged at the Buryat Drama Theater to the text by G.Ts. Tsydynzhapov and A. Shadayev. In 1940, the drama was staged in the second edition jointly by B.B. Yampilov. In many national theaters of the USSR at that time, musical drama was a transitional genre to opera. On December 20, 1939, the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the Buryat-Mongolian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic adopted a resolution on the reorganization of the national drama theater into a musical drama theater. The troupe of the theater received graduates of theater and music schools, the choir and orchestra increased. On October 20, 1940, the First Decade of Buryat-Mongolian Art began in Moscow. The theater showed the musical dramas "Bair" by P. M. Berlinsky and "Erzhen" by V. Moroshkin and the first Buryat opera "Enkhe-Bulat Bator" based on the national epic. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the theater was awarded the Order of Lenin. The chief director of the theater G. Tsydynzhapov was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR. During the Great Patriotic War, the theater created several concert teams. The brigades performed in military units and hospitals in Ulan-Ude, Transbaikalia and the Far East. In the winter of 1943, the concert brigade under the leadership of G. Tsydynzhapov held more than 60 concerts in parts of the Belorussian Front. In 1943 the theater staged its first ballet performance The Fountain of Bakhchisarai by B. Asafiev and the opera Eugene Onegin by P. Tchaikovsky. In 1946, some of the young performers were sent to study in Moscow, the Leningrad Conservatory and the Choreographic School. AND I. Vaganova. G. Tsydynzhapov had directing practice at the Moscow Art Theater. In 1948 the musical theater was separated from the drama theater. On the basis of the musical theater, the Buryat Opera and Ballet Theater was created. In 1952, a building with 718 seats was built for the theater. The author of the building project is architect A. Fedorov. Above the central portal there is a sculptural group "Horsemen" with an unfolded banner, the Sculptor is A.I. Timin. On May 1, the grand opening of the theater took place, the first performance was staged on November 7, 1952. In 1959, the Second Decade of Buryat Art took place in Moscow. The opera "Brothers" by D. Ayusheev, the ballet "Beauty Angara" by L.K. Knipper and B.B. Yampilov, awarded in 1973 the State Prize of the RSFSR. M. Glinka, and the ballet "In the Name of Love" by J. Batuev and V. Meisel. Following the results of the Second Decade, the title of People's Artist of the USSR was awarded to L.L. Linkhovoin, titles of People's Artists of the RSFSR - L.P. Sakhyanova, N. Petrova, B. Baldakov. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, more than 70 operas and ballets were staged at the theater. In 1979, after a tour in Moscow and Leningrad, the theater was awarded the title of "academic". The honorary title of "academic theater", success in Moscow, Leningrad, in the south of the country in 1979 became a powerful incentive for further growth and improvement of the theater. In the 1970s - 1980s, many talented masters performed on the stage of the Buryat Theater. Their best creative finds have become a contribution to the history of national musical and theatrical performance. These are People's Artists of the USSR, opera soloists L.L. Linkhovoin, K.I. Bazarsadaev, D.Ts. Dashiev, People's Artists of the RSFSR S. Radnaev, V. Buruev, L. Levchenko, I. Kuzmina, ballet soloists - an outstanding master of ballet art L. Sakhyanova, n.a. RSFSR O. Korotkova, A. Pavlenko, V. Ganzhenko, E. Sambueva, Yu. Muruev and others. Great merit in all the successes of the theater belongs to the chief conductor of the theater I.Yu. Aizikovich and theater director D.Sh. Yahunaev, Honored Worker of the RSFSR, a musician by education, who headed the theater for two decades (1965-1986). In the 1980s, the young soloists of the opera G. Shoydagbayeva (now People's Artist of the USSR), Honored Artists of the RSFSR - V. Balzhinimaev, O. Ayurova, B. Boroev, V. Tsydypova, became laureates of various international and Russian competitions, in the 90s E. Sharaeva (1995), T. Shoydagbaeva, B. Budaev, D. Zandanov. Productions of the late 1990s: K. Khachaturian's ballet "Cipollino" Choreographer G. Mayorov, conductor M. Baldaev Opera "The Queen of Spades" by P. Tchaikovsky (1999). Musical director and conductor Roman Yurievich Moiseev, stage director L. Erdenebulgan (Mongolia). Operetta by I. Strauss "The Bat". Musical director Roman Moiseev. Stage director and choreographer A. Golyshev Opera by C. Gounod "Faust". Tour of the Buryat Academic Opera and Ballet Theater in Mongolia (1999). In recent years, the theater has carried out international projects with Mongolia, the USA, China, participated in the international ballet festival in Kyiv, on the stage of the national opera. Successful tours to China covered 26 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang, Haikou, Ganzhou and others. The ballet team adequately represented the art of the Republic of Buryatia at prestigious venues in China, including by participating in the international festival in Dalian. The theater tours of recent years have been held in neighboring regions: the Altai Territory, the Irkutsk Region, the Trans-Baikal Territory, the Aginsky Buryat District. In 2007, the ballet troupe went on tour with great success in Ukraine, the cities of Dnepropetrovsk and Donetsk. The high professional level of the performances is evidenced by the assessments of theater critics and the reviews of the audience. Tours 2008-2009: Chita, Irkutsk, Angarsk, Shelekhov, Usolye-Sibirskoye, Ulan Bator and Erdenet (Mongolia). From December 12 to 20, 2009, the theater's ballet troupe toured in Tomsk, performances were presented: "Swan Lake", "A Thousand and One Nights", "Giselle" and the children's play "Pinocchio". Music critics call People's Artist of the USSR Galina Shoydagbaeva, laureate of the State Prize of the Republic of Buryatia, laureate of three International competitions, a unique, amazing soprano, the "Queen of Sounds". Sings on the stage of the theater Valentina Tsydypova, Honored Artist of the RSFSR, the brightest representative of modern vocal art. Soprano owners Marina Korobenkova, Biligma Rinchinova, Tuyana Damdinzhapova entered the time of creative flowering. The theater has a strong mezzo-soprano group of voices: T. Shoydagbaeva, O. Khingeeva, E. Bazarsadaeva, young O. Zhigmitova. Soloists appeared with strong male voices: B. Gombozhapov, M. Namkhai, B. Dambiev, D. Shagdurov. The young creative team of the ballet: B. Tsybikova, V. Mironova, A. Samsonova, B. Dambaev, B. Radnaev, B. Zhambalov proved to be the best on our stage and on tour. The theater building is currently under reconstruction, the completion of which is scheduled for 2011. Despite all the difficulties, the team continues to live a full creative life: premiere performances are released, the rehearsal process is underway, and tours are carried out. Opera soloists: Galina Shoydagbayeva, Valentina Tsydypova, Marina Korobenkova, Biligma Rinchinova, Tuyana Damdinzhapova, Vera Vasilyeva, Ayuna Bazarguruyeva, Tatyana Shoydagbayeva, Oksana Khingeyeva, Erzhena Bazarsadayeva, Olga Zhigmitova, Damba Zandanov, Bator Budaev, Bairzhab Dambi ev, Sergey Fomenko, Bair Tsydenzhapov, Munkhzul Namkhai, Dorzho Shagdurov, Badma Gombozhapov, Eduard Zhagbaev and others. Ballet soloists: Bayarma Tsybikova, Veronika Mironova, Anastasia Samsonova, Liya Baldanova, Evgenia Mizhitova, Evgenia Balzhinimaeva, Elena Khishiktueva, Ksenia Fedorova, Bulyt Radnaev, Bair Zhambalov, Bayarto Dambaev, Vladimir Kozhevnikov, Innokenty Ivanov, Viktor Dampilov, Bair Tsydypylov, Bator Nadmitov and others. The artistic director of the ballet is Ekaterina Sambueva. The main artist is Mikhail Bolonev. In total, more than 300 performances of Russian, world classics and works by Buryat composers have been staged over the more than 70-year history of the theater. [edit] Buryat operas "On Baikal" by L. K. Knipper (1948, 2nd edition 1958) "Medegmash" by S. N. Ryauzov (1949, 2nd edition "At the foot of the Sayan Mountains" in 1953) 1958), "Brothers" (1961) by D. D. Ayusheev, "At the source of the spring" (1960), "Insight" (1967), "Wonderful Treasure" (1970) by B. B. Yampilov. In 1971, M. P. Frolov's opera Enkhe-Bulat Bator was restored. Buryat ballets Light over the Valley by Ryauzov (1956, the first Buryat ballet) In the Name of Love by Zh. in 1972) "Flowers of Life" (1962), "Geser" (1967), "Dzhangar" (1971) Zh. ), "Into the Storm" (1958); The Gadfly by Spadavecchia (1962), Anna Snegina by Kholminov (1967) Soviet ballets The Red Poppy (1951); Shurale by Yarullin (1955), Path of Thunder (1964); "Legend of Love" Melikov (1966), "Spartacus" (1970) and others. The theater building is an architectural monument of federal significance. The building was built from 1945 to 1952. Stalinist Empire style with national decorative elements. In 1934, the architect of the architectural and design workshops of the Moscow City Council, A. N. Fedorov, developed a project for the Palace of Socialist Culture for Ulan-Ude. It was supposed to build a "large scientific and cultural combine", consisting of a concert hall, a theater, a library, a museum, a research institute. This project has not been approved. A new project for the Music and Drama Theater was developed by A. N. Fedorov in 1936. Construction began in 1938, but was soon stopped. It was supposed to resume construction in 1940 or 1941, but because of the war this was not done. In 1950, A. N. Fedorov died. Since the autumn of 1951, the architect V. A. Kalinin was engaged in the construction of the theater. The authors of the painting of the plafond of the auditorium were performed by the artists G. I. Rublev and B. V. Jordanian. The building has been under renovation since 2006. The completion of the reconstruction was postponed several times and is expected in May 2011. Competitions The theater holds the International Ballet Festival named after n.a. USSR Larisa Sakhyanova and n.a. Russian Petr Abasheev.

The Rome Opera House (Rome Opera) (Teatro dell "Opera di Roma) is an opera and ballet theater in Rome, Italy. Sometimes called the Costanzi Theater, in honor of the creator Domenico Costanzi (1810-1898). The Rome Opera House was built by a private contractor and financier Domenico Costanzi (1810-1898), the architect of the project was the Milanese Achille Sfondrini (1836-1900).The theater was built in eighteen months and opened on November 27, 1880 with a production of the opera "Semiramide" by Gioacchino Rossini.One of the features of the theater was its close proximity to the hotel , also owned by Costanzi, there was an underground passage between the hotel and the theater and guests, including actors, if they did not want to be seen on the street, could go incognito to the theater along this passage.Initially, the Costanzi theater with a capacity of more than 2200 spectators had an amphitheater three tiers of boxes, two separate galleries.The dome was decorated with frescoes by Anibale Brugnoli.The Costanzi family independently managed the theater, first Domenico himself, then his son Enrico, and despite the fact that there were many financial difficulties, the theater was one of the leading in Italy and held many world premieres, including Rural Honor by Pietro Mascagni and Tosca by Giacomo Puccini. In 1907, the theater was acquired by the International and National Theater Company, Emma Carell was appointed manager of the theater, for fourteen years of her management the theater also remained one of the leading theaters in Italy. It hosted many world, European or Italian premieres of operas and ballets, including Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov and Stravinsky's The Firebird staged by Diaghilev's Russian Ballet. In November 1926, the Costanzi Theater was bought by the Rome City Council. The theater underwent a significant restructuring according to the plan of the architect Marcello Piacentini: the facade was rebuilt, the main entrance was moved to the opposite side, the amphitheater was removed inside the theater and another tier was added, the interior was decorated with new stucco moldings and decorative elements, the furniture was replaced and a new magnificent chandelier of 6 meters was hung in diameter with 27,000 pieces of crystal. The theater received the name "Royal Opera House" and reopened its doors on February 27, 1928 with the opera "Nero" by Arrigo Boito. From 1946 to the present, the theater has been called the Rome Opera House. In 1958, the building was reconstructed and modernized again and acquired its present appearance. The same architect Marcello Piacentini drew up a project involving a change in the facade, the main entrance and the foyer, the hall was air-conditioned and a major overhaul was made. Currently, the capacity of the hall is about 1600 seats. The Rome Opera House also has its own opera and ballet companies and a school of classical dance; ballet in Rome is no less popular than opera. Since 1937, in the summer, the opera house has been giving its performances outdoors in the Baths of Caracalla, against the backdrop of an architectural monument of ancient times.

Perm Academic Opera and Ballet Theater named after P.I. Tchaikovsky is one of the oldest theaters in Russia. For more than a century of its history, the Perm Opera and Ballet Theater has invariably remained the country's largest musical center, which hosts significant creative events. In the theater, which is often called the Tchaikovsky House, all stage works of the great composer have been staged. The "golden fund" of the repertoire carefully preserves the classical works of Borodin, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov. The theater returns to the audience and undeservedly forgotten musical canvases. For the first time in Russia, operas were staged at the theater: “Foam of Days” by E. Denisov, “Cleopatra” by J. Massenet, “Lolita” by R. Shchedrin based on the novel by V. Nabokov, “Alcina” by G.F. Handel, "Orpheus" by C. Monteverdi, "Christ" by A. Rubinstein. The third ballet Mecca, after Moscow and St. Petersburg, is called Perm, where, next to the academic ballet troupe, there is a renowned choreographic school. Since the 70s, the Perm Ballet has been in the orbit of unflagging attention of a large audience. The unity of the performing style of the soloists and the corps de ballet is a feature of the collective. The Perm Ballet is perhaps the only troupe in the Russian Federation that consists entirely of graduates from one school. For more than a decade, the Ural stage has been a kind of "launching pad" for many artists known far beyond the borders of Russia. The creative biography of many "stars of the first magnitude" of the capital and other major theaters of the country and the world began in the Perm Theater. The names of world famous dancers - Galina Ragozina-Panova, Lyubov Kunakova, Nadezhda Pavlova, Olga Chenchikova, Marat Daukaev, Yuri Petukhov, Galina Shlyapina, Svetlana Smirnova - glorified the Perm Territory. The participation of its opera singers and ballet dancers in international festivals brought fame to the Perm Theater. The Perm Opera and Ballet Theater is the initiator and organizer of the Arabesque Open Russian Ballet Competition and the Diaghilev Seasons: Perm-Petersburg-Paris International Arts Festival. Opera and ballet performances of the Perm Theater have repeatedly become nominees and winners of the All-Russian National Theater Festival "Golden Mask". The leading soloists of the Perm Theater visited different continents of the world with performances and concert programs. Since 1973, the Perm troupe in full force went on tour to Austria, Italy, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand, Japan and South Korea, England, Ireland, Holland, Spain, China, USA. In France and Cuba, Cambodia and Canada, Thailand and Egypt, Nicaragua, India and the USA - wherever the artists performed, they received critical acclaim and found loyal friends and fans. The Perm Academic Opera and Ballet Theater was created in the 19th century on the initiative of the public of the Kama region, with the participation of the city's amateur musical circle, which included the famous Diaghilev family. The official founding date of the theater is November 24, 1870. The first performance is the opera "A Life for the Tsar" by M. Glinka. “In Perm, the theater as an institution has existed for a long time. At first there was a wooden theater building on Obvinskaya Street, but it burned down in 1863. After that, a wooden theater was built, later dismantled ... For the first time, the inhabitants of the city of Perm saw a good troupe and, moreover, an opera in the winter of 1879/80 in the still unfinished stone theater. The troupe was kept by the subsequently known entrepreneur P.P. Medvedev... In 1896, a whole epoch began in the history of the Perm Theatre. He is taken under his direct care by the vowels of the city duma, who decide to conduct theatrical business at the expense of the city; for the direct management of the theater, the city directorate is chosen, which takes care of inviting artists. It was decided to support the opera troupe at the expense of the city. V. S. Verkholantsev Brief historical and statistical essay "The City of Perm, its past and present" 1913 The first "municipal" season opened ... with the production of "Aida". In total, the directorate spent six seasons, of which one was a drama, one was an opera and drama, the rest were operas. They began in September and ended before Lent. Up to a hundred or more performances took place during the season, the annual repertoire included over thirty works. Russian classics were mainly staged - “Eugene Onegin”, “The Queen of Spades”, “Mazepa” by P. Tchaikovsky, “Prince Igor” by A. Borodin, “Boris Godunov” by M. Mussorgsky, “The Demon” by A. Rubinstein. In addition to them, there are such rare guests on the modern opera stage as "The Enemy Force" by A. Serov, "May Night" by N. Rimsky-Korsakov, "The Stone Guest" by A. Dargomyzhsky and others. Since the mid-90s of the 19th century, Perm has been getting acquainted with choreographic art. On November 5, 1896, a performance of a small ballet by Zannenfeld "The Camp of the Hungarian Gypsies" took place. In January 1897, The Magic Flute by R. Drigo, then The Doll Fairy by I. Bayer saw the light of the Perm stage... The existence of the theater in the first two decades of the 20th century was uneven, but the opera continued to live. Entrepreneurs supported the audience's interest in the opera and the level of performances by relying on premiere singers. In different seasons, A. Nezhdanova, P. Petrova-Zvantseva, N. Figner, M. Maksakov, L. Sobinov and other outstanding vocalists performed in Perm. On August 20, 1921, the first theatrical season after the Civil War opened. In the posters - "Demon", "Faust", "Aida", "Eugene Onegin", "Boris Godunov", "Rigoletto", "The Barber of Seville". By the end of the 1920s, Perm became one of those centers of opera art, where outstanding vocalists and talented conductors willingly come. So in the 1925/26 season, Permians admired the inimitable Carmen F. Mukhtarova, and the next season - Lensky I. Kozlovsky. Throughout the spring of 1929, S. Lemeshev was on the staff of the theater. In 1925, the first theater studio was founded in Perm, which began training ballet dancers, as well as drama, choir and orchestra. On February 2, 1926, A. Adam's ballet "Giselle" was staged by the studio. On October 20, 1931, the premiere of Swan Lake took place (choreographer O. Chaplygin). In the pre-war years, the ballet troupe was led by choreographers of dissimilar trends and schools. Perm balletomanes remembered for a long time N. Goncharova, R. Minaeva, B. Korshunova, A. Bronsky, A. Ezersky and other dancers in the performances of those years. During the war years, the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater evacuated to Perm performed on the stage of the theater. Kirov. The Perm troupe did not stop working in the cities of the region ... Why did the former Mariinsky Theater end up in Perm, then Molotov? ... The idea belonged to the chief conductor A. Pazovsky, who took his first steps into great art here ... The local authorities met this proposal with understanding. Leningraders worked here for three winters and two summers - a long period for the history of the city's musical culture... The school of the world-famous Mariinsky Ballet ended up in Perm, which subsequently contributed to the creation of the Perm Choreographic School... based on the materials of the book by M. Stepanov, Y. Silin " 125 years. Perm Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre. P.I. Tchaikovsky” in 1995. In 1931, the Perm theater was named “2nd State Opera of the Urals”. In the post-war years, the main creative principles of the Perm theater, laid down by its entire prehistory, begin to assert itself. One of the fundamental principles is the renewal of the repertoire at the expense of works rarely performed on the stage. The revival of the unfamiliar, forgotten, for various reasons not accepted by the Russian stage is typical for all periods of the theater's life. The Perm Theater opened to the public the great works of S. Prokofiev: in the 1981-82 season. performed the author's two-night version of S. Prokofiev's opera "War and Peace" and for the first time in the USSR gave stage life to the opera "Fiery Angel" (1984). The opening of many cuts of the opera "War and Peace" enlarged, made the national-patriotic line of the opera larger, the dramaturgy of the whole became more harmonious and logical, the characters of some of the main characters became more multifaceted. This production went down in history, and was awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation. M.I. Glinka. Another principle of the theatre's creative life is work on works by contemporary composers. In Perm, they received a ticket to the life of the opera “Masquerade” by D. Tolstoy and “The Sisters” by D. Kabalevsky, the ballets “The Stone Flower” by A. Fridlinder, “Bela” and “Grushenka” by B. Mashkov, “The Shore of Happiness” by A. Spadavecchia. Among the most interesting creative principles of the theater is an attempt to master the entire opera and ballet heritage of P.I. Tchaikovsky, a native of the Kama region. In 1974, the Perm Academic Theater named after P.I. Tchaikovsky invited the best soloists from many theaters in the country and all his spectators to the First Tchaikovsky Opera and Ballet Festival. This holiday was successfully repeated in 1983 and 1988. The Perm Theater has become a true Tchaikovsky House. The "Golden Age" of the Perm Ballet, generously donated by N. Boyarchikov (chief choreographer of the theatre, student of famous Russian choreographers F. Lopukhov and B. Fenster) to theatergoers of the 70s, has become an exciting legend for subsequent generations. Among his productions are such various in visual language as "The Wonderful Mandarin" by B. Bartok, "Three Cards", "Romeo and Juliet", "Tsar Boris" by S. Prokofiev, "Orpheus and Eurydice" by A. Zhurbin. N. Pavlova, O. Chenchikova, G. Shlyapina, M. Daukaev, L. Fominykh, R. Kuzmicheva, Yu. Petukhov, G. Sudakov, L. Shipulina, K. Shmorgoner, O. Levenkov, V. Dubrovin. In 1965, the Perm Opera and Ballet Theater was named after P.I. Tchaikovsky, and in 1969 - the status of "academic" theater. The creative principles formed in the post-war years determined the artistic strategy of the theater in the difficult 1990s. In the Perm Opera and Ballet Theater, rare operas for the Russian stage sounded: Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, which had not been staged for many decades, V.-A. Mozart, The Flying Dutchman by R. Wagner, N. Rimsky-Korsakov's opera Kashchei the Deathless, which is practically not going on in the country. In 1996, being the chief director of the theatre, G. Isahakyan staged the original play "Three Faces of Love", which included the one-act operas "Master Pedro's Raek" by M. de Falla, "The Breasts of Tiresias" by F. Poulenc and "Maddalena", the first opera by the twenty-year-old S. Prokofiev, whose stage language largely determined the modern " operatic" appearance of Perm. In Perm, for the first time, Alexander Tchaikovsky's opera The Three Prozorov Sisters, based on A.P. Chekhov, and his one-act ballet The Queen of Spades, a paraphrase to the music of P. Tchaikovsky, saw the limelight. Joint productions with American choreographers, directors and artists from Germany, Spain, Switzerland and other countries and continents have become a good tradition. "Peer Gynt" by E. Grieg was staged by the American choreographer Ben Stevenson, "Concerto Baroque" by J.S. Bach is a gift from the G. Balanchine Foundation. The Russian-Spanish production of the opera Salome by R. Strauss became a notable event at the International Festival in Madrid in the autumn of 1995. The Russian opera The Golden Cockerel by N. Rimsky-Korsakov was staged by the Swiss director D. Kagi and the German artist S. Pasterkamp. To the 200th anniversary of A.S. Pushkin, a unique program "Opera Pushkiniana" was prepared. The group of directors who worked on "Pushkiniana Opera" was awarded the State Prize of Russia in the field of literature and art in 1999. As part of the "Diaghilev Seasons-2005" operas based on the plots of "Little Tragedies" by A.S. Pushkin (The Miserly Knight, The Stone Guest, Mozart and Salieri, During the Plague) and Boris Godunov, which made up this cycle, went on for a whole day without a break. In 1990, the first Open Arabesque Ballet Competition was held, artistic directors of which were Vladimir Vasiliev and Ekaterina Maksimova. For 20 years, every two years, dancers from all over the world have gathered in Perm to take part in a ballet competition. Young singers from around the world participated in the First International Competition for Young Opera Singers, held in Perm in 1993. One of the jury members of the competition were O. Borodina and D. Hvorostovsky, winners of the First All-Russian Competition for Young Opera Singers, held in Perm in 1987. In 1996 Tatyana Kuindzhi and Anzor Shomakhia, the performers of the main roles in the Perm production of G. Donizetti's opera Don Pasquale, were awarded the National Theater Award "Golden Mask" for the best female and male roles in 1996. In 1998, this prestigious award was received for the scenography of the play The Queen of Spades. Today the theater is headed by: artistic director - holder of the Order of Friendship, laureate of the National Theater Award "Golden Mask" Teodor Currentzis, chief conductor - Honored Artist of Russia, People's Artist of the Republic of Bashkortostan Valery Platonov, chief guest conductor - Honored Artist of Russia, laureate of the State Prize of the Republic Belarus, winner of the National Theater Award "Golden Mask" Alexander Anisimov, chief choreographer - Alexei Miroshnichenko, chief choirmaster - Dmitry Batin, chief designer - Elena Solovieva. Well-known stage designers of Russia and the world cooperate with the theater - Y. Ustinov, I. Akimova, V. Okunev, Y. Kharikov, A. Kozhenkova, E. Heydebrecht, Y. Cooper and many others. The "golden fund" of the theater's repertoire, as before, is classics, productions are constantly updated, preserving not a museum, but a modern art form. Russian classics are represented by A. Borodin's operas "Prince Igor", N. Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Tsar's Bride", "The Snow Maiden". Popular operas by G. Verdi, V.A. Mozart, R. Leoncavallo. In cooperation with the George Balanchine Foundation, the long-term Russian-American project "Choreography of George Balanchine on the Perm Stage" continues. The Perm audience also got acquainted with the choreography of his younger contemporary, the outstanding American choreographer Jerome Robbins. Within the framework of the Russian-American cultural project "George Balanchine's Choreography on the Perm Stage", the one-act ballets "Somnambula" by V. Rieti, "Donizetti Variations" (2001), "Ballet Imperial" to the music of the Second Piano Concerto by P. Tchaikovsky were staged (2002), Concerto Baroque to the music of a concerto for two violins and string orchestra by I.S. Bach and "Serenade" to the music of "Serenade for String Orchestra" by P. Tchaikovsky "Ballet Imperial" in 2004 became the winner of the "Golden Mask" festival as the best ballet performance. In 2005, a unique project “The most grandiose Swan Lake in the world” was carried out together with the Dutch company Stardust. At the turn of the millennium, the theater increasingly confirms its authority as a pioneer, continuing and enriching the traditions of the "modern opera laboratory". In 2001, the premiere of J. Massenet's opera "Cleopatra" took place, which has never been performed in Russia, and is almost unknown in the world. In 2004, for the first time in Russia, the magical opera “Alcina” by G. F. Handel, staged for the first time in Russia, was the first experience of performing an old opera in the Perm Theater, which opened up new facets of the wonderful opera soloists. In 2007, in the year of the 400th anniversary of C. Monteverdi's opera "Orpheus", this opera was staged on the Perm stage. According to Moscow critic Dmitry Morozov, “Georgy Isahakyan staged, perhaps, his best performance and made a real artistic breakthrough. Orpheus is not just the first production of Monteverdi's masterpiece in Russia, but also the first success of our theater on the field of the old opera. ... "Orpheus" turned out to be the best and certainly the most harmonious musical performance of the year. As part of the Diaghilev Seasons 2007 festival, for the first time in the world, the opera by N. Sidelnikov "Chertogon", arousing great interest among festival guests, professional musicians and critics. Significant events of recent years are the showing in Moscow at the invitation of the Theater of Nations of the performances "Lolita" and "Cleopatra", the performance on the famous stage of the Mariinsky Theater with the ballet program of J. Balanchine. In 2004, the opera troupe performed at the festival of contemporary art "SAKRO ART" in Lokkum with the world premiere of A. Shchetinsky's opera "The Bestiary". The performance was also presented at the Theater of Nations in Moscow and at the theater festival in Yaroslavl. In the spring of 2006 and 2007, the performances of the Perm Theater - "Carmen" by J. Bizet, "The Nightingale" by I. Stravinsky, "Cinderella, or the Tale of Cinderella" by J. Massenet and "... by the name of the Little Mermaid" by A. Dvorak - again became nominees for the Golden Mask. The troupe's tour performances in Moscow and St. Petersburg receive a great response. The participation of Perm artists in the Stars of the White Nights festival on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater, in the music festivals Baltic Seasons in Kaliningrad, Panorama of Russian Opera Houses in Omsk, Crescendo in the capital, on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia, increased the glory of the Perm theater . In January 2008, the tour of the Perm Opera in America was a huge success on the stage of the famous Carnegie Hall, which once opened to the sound of an orchestra conducted by P. I. Tchaikovsky. Now the Perm Theatre, named after P. I. Tchaikovsky, presented the concert "Tchaikovsky known and unknown" with arias and scenes from such operas by the great composer as "The Queen of Spades", "Cherevichki", "Maid of Orleans", "Eugene Onegin", "Iolanta", "Oprichnik", "Ondine", "Enchantress", "Mazepa". The performances of the Perm troupe met with a very warm welcome from the demanding New York audience and received a wide response in the American press. Perm traditionally hosts the Arabesque Open Competition of Russian Ballet Dancers, headed by Vladimir Vasiliev and Ekaterina Maksimova. In 2003, under the patronage of UNESCO, the first International Festival "Diaghilev's Seasons: "Perm - Petersburg - Paris" was held. One of the first festivals in Russia that unites different types of art under the sign of creativity and inspiration. The first premiere of the 137th season was A. Rubinstein's spiritual opera "Christ" (dir. Georgy Isahakyan), staged for the first time on the Russian stage. In February 2009, the premiere of the opera "Othello" directed by V. Petrov, who made his debut as a musical theater director, took place. The Russian and world premiere of the opera One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, which appeared thanks to the creative collaboration of G. Isahakyan and composer A. Tchaikovsky and the good will of A. I. Solzhenitsyn, was held as part of the IV Diaghilev Seasons festival. This production opened up for the operatic art the "camp" theme, which had hardly been touched upon before. At the end of March, the premieres of two modern one-act ballets took place: Medea (choreographer Y. Possokhov) and Ring (choreographer A. Miroshnichenko). The ballets in the classical choreography by M. Fokine, one of the legendary choreographers of Diaghilev's Russian Seasons, were revived specially for Diaghilev's Seasons: Polovtsian Dances and the miniature ballet The Vision of the Rose. It was these performances that were presented by Perm artists at the Bolshoi Theater at the celebration of the centenary of Diaghilev's Russian Seasons, which took place on May 30. The Perm Opera and Ballet Theater took part in the National Theater Festival "Golden Mask-2009" with the ballet performance "Corsair" (choreography by Marius Petipa, updated by director from St. Petersburg V. Medvedev) and the opera "Orpheus" (director G. Isahakyan), which premiered in November 2007. "Orpheus" was awarded two Golden Masks: for the best director (stage director G. Isahakyan) and for the best set design (stage designer Ernst Heydebrecht). A year later, the theater took part in the festival with the ballet performance Medea (choreographer Yuri Posokhov) and the opera One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (director Georgy Isahakyan). The latter was awarded the "Golden Mask" in the nomination "The best work of a conductor", the award was presented to the chief conductor of the theater Valery Platonov.

The Sydney Opera House can be called without exaggeration one of the most recognizable buildings in the world - who among us has not seen these sails soaring into the sky, or orange slices growing directly from the waters of Sydney Harbour? Opened in 1973 by Queen Elizabeth II herself, today this musical theater is a true symbol of Australia. It is interesting that once on this site on Bennelong Point there was first a fort, and then a tram depot, until in 1958 it was decided to build a theater.

Construction history

The creator of this outstanding building of modern architecture was the Dane Jorn Utzon, who received for his project the highest award in the world of architecture - the Pritzker Prize. The theater was originally expected to take about 4 years to build and cost the Australian Government A$7 million. However, due to the interior decoration of the premises, it dragged on for as much as 14 years! Accordingly, the construction estimate has also increased - up to 102 million Australian dollars.

General information about the building of the Sydney Opera House

The building of the Sydney Opera House covers an area of ​​2.2 hectares. Its maximum height is 185 meters, width is 120 meters. The famous theater roof consists of 2194 sections and weighs over 27 tons! All this seemingly aerial structure is held by steel cables with a total length of 350 km. On top of the "shells" of the roof are a million tiles of white and matte cream colors, which in different lighting create different color schemes.

There are 4 stages inside the building. The Main Concert Hall can accommodate 2500 people at the same time, and the Opera Hall is designed for 1500 people. The other two halls are used for theatrical drama productions. In addition, the building houses a cinema hall and two restaurants.

For almost 40 years of operation, the Sydney Opera House has been visited by more than 40 million people, which is several times more than the population of all of Australia. In 2007 it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

On a note

• Location: Bennelong Point, Sydney
• Official website: http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com
• Opening hours: Monday-Saturday from 9:00-19.30, Sunday from 10:00-18:00.
• Tickets: Admission to the theater is free during opening hours.

Sydney is the oldest and most beautiful city in Australia. Today it is impossible to imagine it without the Sydney Opera House. Since the opening of this majestic Opera, this building has been recognized as a symbol of this extraordinary city.

Opera House in Sydney

The Sydney Opera House is located in a beautiful place, on Cape Bennelong, not far from the Harbor Bridge. Before the construction of the opera, a fort was located in this area, and after it a transport depot.

The construction of the opera house started in 1959 and dragged on for 4 years. The Sydney Theater was first presented by Elizabeth II, Queen of England on October 20, 1973.

The famous architect Jorn Utzon designed the opera. The construction of the opera house is located on an area of ​​2.2 hectares, its length is 185 meters, and its width is 120.

In the construction of the opera house there are about a dozen halls of different sizes for all kinds of gatherings. There are 2.5 thousand seats in the concert hall, 1.5 thousand seats in the opera hall, and over 500 seats in the drama theater hall, and there are also a couple of small halls, one of the halls is located in the courtyard under the open sky.

In addition to these halls, the Sydney Opera House has 2 stages and many entertainment venues. Free performances and concerts are continuously held in front of the theater on the square. Here you can listen to national music.

At the same time, up to 4 different performances can be held in the theater on different stages.

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On the territory of the opera there are 6 bars and 4 restaurants, here after the end of the performance, and during the intermission, visitors can refresh themselves and drink refreshing cocktails. There are also numerous souvenir shops for tourists.

In Sydney, the opera house is one of the extraordinary buildings of modern architecture. The property of the Sydney Opera House is the curtain, which is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest on the planet. And another property of the opera house is the largest organ on the planet, with 10,500 pipes, which is also listed in the Guinness Book of Records.

Experts calculated that since the opening of the opera, almost 40 million people have visited it. tourists from various countries, which exceeds the number of residents of all of Australia.

Entrance inside the building is free, but visiting the opera itself is very problematic. You need to buy a ticket for the opera in a couple of months, the pricing policy is quite high.

For visitors, there are guided tours - every day from 9 to 17 hours. In addition, every morning, at 7 am, they organize a performance with breakfast.

In 2007, the World Organization for the Protection of Monuments of Architecture UNESCO included the Sydney Theater in its famous register.

– Sydney Opera House, and even if you haven’t heard, you will certainly easily recognize the photo of this unusual sail-like structure.

Our story will take you closer to this unique building, you will find out why it has gained such popularity among tourists, and you can decide whether it deserves your attention or not.

History of the Opera House in Sydney

The history of the construction of the world-famous landmark began in the distant 1954 the year the British conductor sir J. Goossens, having arrived in work, he discovered that there was not only an opera house, but also no other sufficiently spacious room where people could listen to music.
He got excited about the idea of ​​building and soon found a suitable place - Cape Bennelong Point, where at that time the tram depot was located.
J. Goossens did a lot of work, and so, on May 17, 1955, the Australian government announced a competition to develop a project for a new opera house. Architects from all over the world submitted their projects, but in the end the Dane won J. Watson.
Large-scale construction began, which dragged on for 14 years and instead of the originally calculated 7 million Australian dollars, it required 102 million.
In 1973, the official opening of the Sydney Opera House took place, soon after which the building became the main architectural symbol not only, but of Australia as a whole.

Top attractions - what to see at the Sydney Opera House?

Undoubtedly, the attention of people from all over the world to the Sydney Opera House is the most attracted by its easily recognizable roof, which resembles sails to some, shells to some, and others say that it is a symbol of frozen music.

Did you know? Many people think that the roof has a white surface, but in fact, some of its tiles are white, others are cream, due to which, depending on the sunlight, it can “change” color.

But besides the roof, there are many other things that make the structure really outstanding. It is surrounded by water on three sides and stands on huge concrete piles. The area of ​​the theater reaches incredible figures - 22 thousand square meters. m.!

The theater contains 4 large halls at once:

• Concert hall, which can simultaneously receive 2679 visitors;
• Opera theatre, designed for 1507 spectators, they play here not only opera, but also ballet;
• Drama Theater, capable of accommodating 544 people;
• Maly Drama Theater– the most comfortable hall for 398 spectators.

In addition to the main halls, the theater has many other rooms - rehearsal rooms, dressing rooms, corridors, bars and restaurants.

Entertainment

Undoubtedly, the main attraction of the Opera House in Sydney is watching his outstanding plays, performances, operas and ballets. World-famous theater and ballet troupes, as well as orchestras, singers and other artists come here with their performances.

Did you know? At the same time, 4 different performances can take place in the theater!

You can find a list of upcoming events at official website of the Sydney Opera House.
If you're not an avid art lover, or have a little time to spare, but want to get to know the world-famous building, this is easy to do.

By visiting one of them, you can not only learn more interesting facts about the famous building, but also go “behind the scenes” of theatrical life, meet the actors of the troupes and even try out theatrical food. By the way, about food.
There are several good bars and restaurants on the territory of the Sydney Opera House. The most popular of them:

• Opera Bar- a bar and a restaurant, which is at the same time one of the "favorites" among the Sydney people;
• Bennelong- one of the best restaurants in Australia, whose chef is P. Gilmour, who prepares original dishes from Australian ingredients;
• Portside Sydney- the most suitable for a light snack, a cup of coffee or a dessert, a friendly family restaurant.

Also in the theater building you will find many souvenir shops, offering tourists a very wide selection of pleasant and memorable little things.

Where is the Sydney Opera House located?

The famous building is located in the picturesque Sydney harbor at Bennelong Point.
You can easily get here from anywhere in the Australian capital, as there is an intersection of sea and land transport routes nearby.
GPS coordinates: 33.856873° S, 151.21497° E.

Opening hours of the Sydney Opera House

• The theater is open to visitors daily from 9 am (Sunday from 10:00) until late in the evening.

• Prices for visiting the theater depend on the purpose of such a visit - either it will be an excursion, or you want to see this or that performance, or you just want to relax and have a delicious meal in one of the theater restaurants - in each case, the price can vary significantly.
• If you have any questions, you can contact the "Info-service" of the theater from Monday to Friday at tel. +61 2 9250 7111 or email address [email protected].
  The official website of the Sydney Opera House is www.sydneyoperahouse.com.

Sydney Opera House - interesting facts

• Author of the Sydney theater project Yu. Goossens, despite the amount of work he did, was "expelled" from Australia, since they allegedly found forbidden items of the “black mass” in him.
• The initial A$7 million for the theater was raised thanks to charity lottery.
• The famous sail-shaped roof significantly worsened the acoustics of the theater premises, and therefore it was necessary to make additional sound reflective ceilings. The roof, by the way, was also too heavy, and the builders were forced to redo the entire foundation of the theater again.
• In connection with the protracted construction, the architect of the Sydney Opera House, J. Watson, had difficulties with the Australian government, and he was forced to leave Australia. The theater was completed by another architect.
• She herself came to open the opera house in Sydney Queen Elizabeth II of Britain.
• The Sydney Theater has the longest theater curtains in the world, and its large concert hall is the largest organ on the planet.
• The Sydney Opera House is the first building in the world to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage during the lifetime of its architect.
• The building of the opera house is still not completed to the end. To prepare for the 2000 Olympics, the Australian government invited J. Watson to complete the building, but he refused. The illustrious architect never returned to Australia after the forced cessation of construction.
• J. Watson in 2003 received the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for the project of the world famous theater.
• Sydney Opera House was a contender for the title of one of the 7 wonders of the world.
• So far, never not required repair of the famous building.

Sydney Opera House - Video

In this video you will learn even more information about the Sydney Opera House. Enjoy watching!

These and many other secrets are hidden behind the walls of the world-famous theater - hurry to see it, touch its secrets and touch the great musical and theatrical art that unfolds daily behind its backstage.

Sydney Opera House (English Sydney Opera House)- one of the most famous and easily recognizable buildings in the world, which is a symbol of Australia's largest city, Sydney, and one of the main attractions of Australia. The sail-shaped shells that form the roof make this building unlike any other in the world. The Opera House is recognized as one of the outstanding buildings of modern architecture in the world and since 1973, along with the Harbor Bridge, has been the hallmark of Sydney.

It is located in Sydney Harbour, at Bennelong Point. This place got its name from an Australian aborigine, a friend of the first governor of the colony. It is difficult to imagine Sydney without the Opera, but until 1958 there was an ordinary tram depot in its place, and before the depot there was a fort in this place.

The history of opera began on May 17, 1955, when the state government gave permission for the construction of the Sydney Opera House at Bennelong Point, on the condition that public funds were not needed. An international competition was announced for the design of the building, to which 223 works were sent - the world was clearly interested in a fresh idea.

But at the same time, it turned out to be very difficult to implement the idea, because it was necessary to fit two opera houses on a small plot of land measuring 250 by 350 feet, surrounded on three sides by water.

In 1957 Utson submitted a project to the Opera in Sydney and won. Nobody expected this, and he himself - in the first place. His project was a series of barely developed drawings, representing, in fact, only the general idea of ​​​​the Sydney Opera House Opera - theaters are placed close to each other, and the problem of walls is removed due to their absence: a series of fan-shaped white roofs is attached directly to the cyclopean podium. But the idea seemed brilliant to the jury.

Real design and construction began. This is a long business. By mid-1965, relations between the architect and the Australian government of Prime Minister Robert Askin had reached an impasse. Davis Hudges, Minister of Construction, accused Jorn Utson of being over budget, unprofessional, unrealistic, and failing to complete the project. Utson was removed from the project, left Australia and never returned there. The project was completed by local architects. Not even the opening of the Utson theater was called. His name was not mentioned anywhere. And in 1975, Davis Hudges was knighted.

It was planned that the construction of the theater would take four years and would cost seven million Australian dollars, but the opera was built for fourteen years and cost $102 million. At the same time, the work of so many years has borne fruit - so far the building has not required any repairs or modernization of the interior.

It cannot be said that the Sydney Opera House immediately became a wonder of the world. For some time, humanity has been eyeing her. Postmodern times were coming, and Utson's bright, desperate modernist attraction was of little concern to anyone. He was going through hard times. Today the name of this unfortunate Australian minister Hudges is remembered only in connection with the fact that he ruined the life of the great Utson. Then Utson gained a reputation as a person who draws projects that cannot be realized. He built only simple townhouses in his homeland, in Denmark, in Elsinore, and public buildings for the Arab countries. But neither the Parliament of Kuwait nor the Central Bank of Tehran became masterpieces - they constantly cut their budgets, reminding them of what happened in Sydney.

But in 2003 Jorn Utzon still deservedly received the Pritzker Prize for the project of the Sydney Opera House.

The Sydney Opera House was opened on October 20, 1973 by Queen Elizabeth II of England. The first performance in the new theater was the work of S. Prokofiev "War and Peace". Since then, the theater has held about 3,000 performances annually, watched by at least 2 million people.

The theater serves as the cultural center of Australia. Its nine hundred rooms housed the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Opera, the Sydney Theater Company, the Sydney Dance Company, and the Australian Ballet. In addition to the opera hall, there is also a concert hall, drama and chamber theater halls, 4 restaurants and a reception hall. The theater curtain woven in France is the largest in the world. The area of ​​each half of this miracle curtain is 93 m2. The record holder is also the huge mechanical organ of the concert hall - it has 10,500 pipes!

The Sydney Opera House is one of the architectural wonders of the world, perhaps the most famous building of the 20th century. The latest technology and mind-blowing design ideas still delight all guests to this day.

Concert hall- the largest room inside the Opera. White birch wood, vaulted ceiling, and special interior inserts are all used to enhance the acoustic effect. Seating capacity is 2,679. The Australian Symphony Orchestra, the Sydney Philharmonic Choir, and the Australian Philharmonic Orchestra present a wide variety of musical performances, including performances by world-famous artists and singers.

The Sydney Opera House is an Expressionist building with a radical and innovative design. The architect is Dane Jörn Utzon, who won the Pritzker Prize for the project in 2003. The building covers an area of ​​2.2 hectares. Its height is 185 meters and the maximum width is 120 meters. The building weighs 161,000 tons and rests on 580 piles lowered into the water to a depth of almost 25 meters from sea level. Its power supply is equivalent to the electricity consumption of one city with a population of 25,000 people. Electricity is distributed over 645 kilometers of cable.

The roof of the opera house consists of 2,194 prefabricated sections, its height is 67 meters and the weight is more than 27 tons, the entire structure is supported by steel cables 350 kilometers long. The roof of the theater is formed by a series of "shells" of a non-existent concrete sphere 492 feet in diameter, commonly referred to as "shells" or "sails", although this is incorrect in terms of the architectural definition of such a structure. These "shells" are made of prefabricated, triangular concrete panels supported by 32 prefabricated ribs of the same material. All ribs form part of one large circle, which allowed the outlines of the roofs to have the same shape, and the whole building to have a complete and harmonious look.

The entire roof is covered with 1,056,006 azulejo tiles in white and matt cream. Although from a distance the structure seems to be made entirely of white tiles, under different lighting conditions the tiles create different color schemes. Thanks to the mechanical way of laying tiles, the entire surface of the roof turned out to be perfectly smooth, which would be impossible with manual coating. All tiles were produced by the Swedish factory Hoganas AB with self-cleaning technology, but despite this, work is regularly carried out to clean and replace some of the tiles. The interior of the building is finished with pink granite brought from the Tarana region (New South Wales), wood and plywood.

The two largest arches of shells form the ceiling of the Concert Hall and the Opera Theatre. In other rooms, the ceilings form clusters of smaller vaults.

The stepped structure of the roof was very beautiful, but created height problems inside the building, because the resulting height did not provide proper acoustics in the halls. To solve this problem, separate ceilings were made to reflect sound. The smallest shell, away from the main entrance and grand staircase, houses the Bennelong Restaurant.

Official website of the Sydney Opera House: www.sydneyoperahouse.com