Lviv theatre of opera and ballet blog

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?

Read about choosing the best seat in a house of opera.
See images of a variety of house of opera seating plans and seating charts.
Listen to opera music online – the Entr’acte (Introduction) to Act 4, from Carmen by Georges Bizet.
Lviv Opera House Seating
Lviv Opera House Seating

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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.

Read about the artists and art that make-up the ceiling of the Lviv Opera House.
See images of the Lviv House of Opera ceiling.
Listen to opera music online – the Introduction and Chorus from the Ukrainian opera The Stolen Happiness by Julij Mejtus (1903 – 1997).

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).

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

It was built according to the design of famous architect Zygmunt Gorgolewski and opened in 1900. A number of technical innovations of that time were made in order to implement this project.

In particular, the theatre got electric heating, an elaborate fire safety system and innovative solutions for the scene arrangement. As the theatre is located on the land with bog soils, just above the Poltva River that flows nowadays in the underground sewer pipe, there was several times a threat of destruction that created a variety of mystical rumours. In addition to classical world performances, every theatrical season also introduces novelties.

Occasionally, it is possible to get to interesting cultural events of the city. In order to see the interior of the theatre, you should purchase a ticket for excursion.

The construction lasted for 3 years, since 1897 till 1900. And on the 4th of October Grand Theatre was opened. The first staged opera was “Janek”, which told about the life of Carpathians.

A few years later the theater repertoire comprised of more than 40 operas and almost 50 operettas.

In the 1921 year the first ballet, “Swan Lake” by Tchaikovsky, was staged. The most prominent actors had performed in Lviv Opera House. It became one of the greatest theatres in Europe.

During 1934 – 1939 years the theatre was closed due to financial difficulties.

In 1939 Lviv Grand theatre had been renamed as Lviv National Theatre of Opera and Ballet.

In 1956 Lviv Opera House was named after Ivan Franko.

And finally in the 2000 year, during the centenarycelebration of the theatre, it was named after Solomiya Krushelnytska, a famous opera singer.

The Lviv Opera House is built in a Neo-Renaissance style, which combines the elements of Renaissance, Baroque and Classicism. The facade of the theatre is splendidly decorated with allegorical sculptures of muses, Corinthian columns, niches, balustrades.

On the top of the façade, you could see two allegoric bronze sculptural groups, which symbolize Drama, Comedy, and Music. In the center a sculpture of Glory with a palm branch is placed.

The interior is richly decorated with oil paintings, sculptures and molding. For internal gilding, a few kilograms of gold had been used. And the true masterpiece in Opera House is a curtain Parnassus (1900), painted by polish master Henryk Siemiradzki. It is used nowadays for the special occasions.

Today Lviv Opera House plays an important role in the city’s cultural life and is one of the favorite places for tourists to go. You can discover the beauty of the building and learn the most interesting facts and legends on a private guided Lviv Opera House tour.

The Lviv Opera opened on October 4, 1900. The cultural elite—painters, writers, and composers, as well as delegations from various European theatres—attended the opening festivities. Among the guests attending the ceremony were writer Henryk Sienkiewicz, composer Ignacy Jan Paderewski, the painter Henryk Siemiradzki,[8] the Chief magistrate of Lviv Godzimir Małachowski, the provincial governor Leon Piniński and head of the provincial assembly Count Stanisław Badeni. A delegation from the city of Prague was headed by mayor Vladimir Srb and former director of the National Theatre, František Adolf Šubert. Due to recent deaths of both the Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic archbishops, the building was blessed by the Armenian Catholic archbishop of Lviv, Izaak Mikołaj Isakowicz, alongside rabbi Ezechiel Caro and the Protestant pastor Garfel.[citation needed]

The grand opening gala that evening included excerpts from:

The ballet Baśń nocy świętojańskiej (Tale of the Midsummer Night) by Jan Kasprowicz and Seweryn Berson
The opera, Janek by Władysław Żeleński, about the life of Carpathian mountain-dwellers, with an aria sung by the Ukrainian tenor, Oleksandr Myshuha, for whom it was specially written.[citation needed]
A comedy Odludki (Recluses) by Aleksander Fredro

At the end of the 19th century, local leaders felt the need for a large city theatre to be situated in the capital of Galicia (Ukrainian: Галичина, Polish: Galicja). In 1895, the city announced an architectural design competition, which attracted a large number of submissions.[1] Among the participants were the renowned Viennese architects Fellner & Helmer, whose entry was rejected as too international and eclectic.[2][3][a]

An independent jury chose the design by Zygmunt Gorgolewski,[2][3][4][5] a graduate of the Berlin Building Academy and the director of city's Engineering Academy. Gorgolewski pleasantly surprised the jury by planning to locate the building in the center of the city, despite the area having been already densely built-up. In order to solve the space problem, he boldly proposed to enclose the Poltva River underground, and instead of using a traditional foundation, utilized a reinforced concrete base for the first time in Europe.[1]

In June 1897, the cornerstone was placed. Gorgolewski oversaw construction, earthwork and design, employing the leading stonemasons from the city and beyond. Local materials were used wherever possible, however marble elements were manufactured in Vienna, special linen for painting in the foyer was imported from Belgium. The Austrian company Siemens was ran the electrical wiring and lights, while the hydraulic mechanization of the stage was built by the Polish railway workshop company in Sanok.[1]

Construction continued for three years. Funding came from the city, the surrounding communities, and from voluntary donations. The cost of the works totaled 2.4 million Austrian crowns.[6]

Stories remain that despite the engineering innovations used by Gorgolewski to construct the foundation of the building, it began to slowly sink because of the Poltva river running underneath it in a tunnel. In July 1903 he died suddenly of paralysis of the aorta of the heart.[7] After some initial settling, the building ceased 'sinking' and remains stable to this day, owing to the innovative design of Gorgolewski.

At the end of the 19th century, local leaders felt the need for a large city theatre to be situated in the capital of Galicia (Ukrainian: Галичина, Polish: Galicja). In 1895, the city announced an architectural design competition, which attracted a large number of submissions.[1] Among the participants were the renowned Viennese architects Fellner & Helmer, whose entry was rejected as too international and eclectic.[2][3][a]

An independent jury chose the design by Zygmunt Gorgolewski,[2][3][4][5] a graduate of the Berlin Building Academy and the director of city's Engineering Academy. Gorgolewski pleasantly surprised the jury by planning to locate the building in the center of the city, despite the area having been already densely built-up. In order to solve the space problem, he boldly proposed to enclose the Poltva River underground, and instead of using a traditional foundation, utilized a reinforced concrete base for the first time in Europe.[1]

The Solomiya Krushelnytska Lviv State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet (Ukrainian: Львівський Національний академічний театр опери та балету імені Соломії Крушельницької) or Lviv Opera (Ukrainian: Львівська оперa, Polish: Opera Lwowska) is an opera house located in Lviv, Ukraine's largest western city and one of its historic cultural centers. Originally built on former marshland of the submerged Poltva River, the Lviv Opera now located on Freedom Avenue (Ukrainian: Проспект Свободи), the tree-lined centerpiece of Lviv's historic Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the city's Halych district.

According to the inscription in the theater lobby, the building was constructed between 1897 and 1900, and has remained standing throughout several changes in history. Originally built when Lviv was the capital of the autonomous province of Galicia in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Lviv Opera (German: Lemberger Oper) first stood at the end of Archduke Karl Ludwig Avenue, was later known as the Grand Theatre (Polish: Teatr Wielki) of the Second Polish Republic, and during the time of Soviet rule, entering patrons would pass by a towering statue of Vladimir Lenin. For four decades, the theater was known as the Ivan Franko Lviv State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, having been renamed in 1956 after the city's famous poet and political activist on the centenary of his birth. In 2000, the Lviv Opera celebrated its own centennial with another renaming, this time after one of the city's native daughters, Solomiya Krushelnytska, a renowned soprano of the early 20th century.