13 Interesting Fun Facts About the House of Opera in Lviv, Ukraine

The house of opera and ballet in Lviv Ukraine is certainly a grand opera house. An opera house tour will provide you a view of the seats, stage, foyer and hall of mirrors and art. The House of Opera in Lviv is not a royal opera house. Ukraine does not have a royal family. But, the opera house does have the title of “National Opera House”.

Opera house tickets for the many opera house shows and opera house events can be purchased at the opera house box office just inside the main entrance where a seating plan and a seating chart are available for you to examine. An opera house performance at the Lviv Opera House Theatre is time well spent.

Read to Discover: Interesting Fun Facts About the Lviv Opera House

  1. The Lviv Opera House Seating Plan Seats 1,002 Persons.
  2. The Lviv Opera Theatre is a Showcase for 12 Different Artists.
  3. The House of Opera Building Sits on a River.
  4. The Opera House has been Resident in 8 Countries.
  5. A Unique Proscenium Curtain was Specially Created by Henryk Siemiradzki.
  6. The Opera House Features a Full Scale Ballet Company.
  7. The Opera House Theatre was Designed by a Resident Lviv Architect.
  8. Cheap Opera Tickets are Readily Available for All Performances.
  9. Over 700 people are Employed at the House of Opera and Ballet in Lviv.
  10. The House of Opera Building is Frequently Used for Wedding Photo Shoots.
  11. Famous Opera Singers Have Performed on the Lviv Opera House Stage.
  12. The Lviv Opera and Ballet Theatre Celebrated its 115th Anniversary in 2015.
  13. Over 200 Performances are Given Annually at the Lviv House of Opera and Ballet.

House of Opera, Lviv, Ukraine
House of Opera, Lviv, Ukraine

 

The Lviv House of Opera and Ballet Seats Over 1,000 People

The Lviv House of Opera and Ballet is considered a small opera house. It has:

  • 403 parterre seats
  • 66 parterre box seats
  • 58 balcony I seats
  • 90 balcony I box seats
  • 84 balcony II seats
  • 66 balcony II box seats
  • 235 balcony III seats

which is 222 box seats and 780 regular seats, for a total of 1,002 seats.

Around the world, Houses of Opera range from small ones seating around 800 – 900 people (Prague Opera House seats 812 people) to large facilities intended for an audience of 3,500 to 4,000 opera lovers (Metropolitan Opera House seats 3,800 people).

What is a parterre seat? What is the difference between a box seat and a regular seat? Where is the best seat in the house to enjoy an opera performance?

Lviv Opera House Seating
Lviv Opera House Seating

 

12 Different Artists Created the Lviv House of Opera Auditorium Ceiling

The Lviv House of Opera auditorium ceiling is the combined work of the following artists:

  • Aleksander Augustynowicz (1865 – 1944)
  • Zygmunt Gorgolewski (1845 – 1903)
  • Piotr Witalis Harasimowicz (1857 – 1914)
  • Stanisław Kaczor-Batowski (1866 – 1946)
  • Ludomir Köhler (1859 – 1915?)
  • Edward Miron Pietsch
  • Tadeusz Popiel (1863 – 1913)
  • Stanisław Reichan (1858 – 1919)
  • Zygmunt Rozwadowski (1870 – 1950)
  • Tadeusz Rybkowski (1848 – 1926)
  • Antoni Stefanowicz (1858 – 1929)
  • Piotr Basyli Woytowycz (1862 – 1936/38)

In the past, many European theatres and churches were designed by one master artist. The master artist would engage and supervise his students as they realized his creation.

In Lviv, the tradition of one artist being credited with adorning the walls and ceiling of the Opera House was not upheld. Instead, the Opera House Theater is a showcase for many artists, all of whom lived and created in the city of Lviv at the beginning of the 20th century. For art history enthusiasts, a closer examination of the art works in the Lviv Opera House is an opportunity to discover a vibrant art culture that flourished in the City of Lviv at the end of the 19th century.

Lviv House of Opera Ceiling
Lviv House of Opera Ceiling

 

The Lviv House of Opera Has Been Resident in 8 Countries

The Lviv House of Opera and Ballet building has been part of:

  • Hapsburg Empire (to 1914 and again 1915 – 1918)
  • Romanov Empire (September, 1914 – June, 1915)
  • West Ukrainian People’s Republic (1918 – 1919)
  • Ukrainian National Republic (1919 – 1920)
  • Commonwealth of Poland (1920 – 1939)
  • Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (1939 –1941 and again 1944 – 1991)
  • Germany Reich (1941 –1944)
  • Ukraine (1991 – present).

The Lviv Opera House reflects the history of the Eastern European region and its people, who during the 19th century lived under various regimes and foreign governments in the struggle to finally achieve independence and self-rule.

20th Century Lviv
20th Century Lviv

 

Cheap Opera Tickets in Lviv, Ukraine

Cheap theater tickets to an opera performance are available for all those who are tourists or residents in the City of Lviv. Why? Because compared to the prices of opera tickets in any of the grand opera houses in Europe or famous opera companies of North America, they are very cheap – probably the cheapest in the world.

The House of Opera and Ballet in Lviv, Ukraine offers a full season form September to July.

Cheap Opera Tickets???
Cheap Opera Tickets???

 

Famous Opera Singers at the Lviv House of Opera in Ukraine

Before World War I, when the world was divided into empires ruled by hereditary family lineages, opera was financed and controlled by royal courts. (Conceivably, this is why the idea developed that opera is an “elite” art form.)

Contrary to what history textbooks teach us, the “elites” of these empires were not at constant war between each other. Instead, evidence shows that they intermarried, created mutually beneficial territorial alliances and conducted trade transactions that allowed them to increase their personal wealth. In short, they were the oligarchs of their day, who enjoyed the boxes and foyer’s of major opera houses within their empires.

Famous opera singers of the 19th and 20th centuries were dependent on the support of these “elites”. It should come as no surprise that they would travel to perform for them. What is worthy of note is that, prior to World War I, there were troupes of so-called “Italian opera singers”. These leading opera singers would go on tour performing in the far reaches of the Habsburg, Romanov and Bourbon empires.

At the time, the City of Lviv was known as Lemberg and was a major cultural center within the Habsburg Empire. As such, even though it did not have a full fledged house of opera until 1900, it was on the opera traveling circuit. Famous opera singers – Mattia Battistini (1856 – 1928), Alexander Filippi (1853 – 1922), Gemma Bellincioni (1864 – 1950), Solomiya Krushelnytska (1872 – 1952) – regularly performed for Lviv audiences.

Famous Opera Singers
Famous Opera Singers

Come and visit the unique Lviv House of Opera in Ukraine!

Text by: Oksana A. Wynnyckyj-Yusypovych

 

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