Opera and ballet art in Kharkiv has more than a 240 years history – the first performance was held in 1780. Soon we will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of the creation of the first permanent musical theater building in the city and the beginning of permanent opera performances. And almost 100 years ago, on October 3, 1925, the First Ukrainian Opera and Ballet Theater was opened, which, thanks to the work of the famous artists A. Petrytsky, O. Khvostenko-Khvostov and others, became a powerful center of the Ukrainian avant-garde art and, despite ideological dictates, boldly integrated their productions into the European cultural context. Since then, the artistic group of the theater has made a long and difficult path, never losing its focus on the high level of professionalism of its artistic staff, bright picturesqueness of performances, search and experiment.
On the eve of a full-scale invasion, the theater continued to make a rapid progress. It became a member of the European Opera Association – “Opera Europe” (2019), developed new perspective methods of interaction with the audience, attracted visitors with extraordinary productions. A colossal resonance was made by the most large-scale ballet performance “Spartacus” by A. Khachaturian, the first powerful national opera “Vyshyvany. The King of Ukraine” by A. Zagaikevych to the libretto by S. Zhadan, the first production of J. Massenet’s opera “Cinderella” in Ukraine with the use of high-end technologies in scenography. At the beginning of 2022, about 800 employees worked in the theater. Collectives and soloists of KhNATOB successfully performed in many countries of Europe, Asia, and America. The repertoire of the theater included more than 70 performances. The theater had a huge material and technical base with hundreds of decorations, costumes, props and a unique museum collection – these items of our cultural heritage still require protection and careful storage.
With the beginning of the full-scale Russian aggression, KhNATOB became the only artistic group that was forced to work simultaneously in two locations for two years, in Ukraine and in Europe, which had no analogues in Ukrainian cultural life. The theater launched two important projects. The first of them, “Skhid Opera: Overcoming Distance”, was aimed at the European audience and became a bright example of successful cultural diplomacy. Part of the theater troupe went on a humanitarian tour “The European Way”. Its members visited 16 European countries, holding more than 300 performances and concerts, introducing the European public to one of the leading artistic groups of Ukraine. The purpose of the tour was to acquaint Europeans with Ukrainian culture and remind them of the realities of the Russian invasion, as well as to support those compatriots who were forced to move abroad because of the war. Paris and Rome, Vienna and Bratislava, dozens of other European cities, including the “capital” of the European Union – Strasbourg, as well as the Vatican city-state, greeted Kharkiv artists with standing ovations, recognizing the high professionalism of the performers and our common cultural code.
The second project – “Skhid Opera – To the Hero City of Kharkiv” – was implemented in Kharkiv. From the first days of the full-scale invasion, theater artists performed in bomb shelters, supporting Kharkiv residents and refugees from the frontline areas. During this time, theater artists gave more than 400 concerts for the public, including the civil population, the employees of the State Emergency Service and the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. A number of opera premieres were also prepared. And in 2024, on the initiative of the theater, the All-Ukrainian HUB “Artistic FORTRESS” was launched, aimed at introducing the best examples of Ukrainian musical and theatrical art to forced displaced persons and residents of the front-line territories. In the framework of this project, the world-class opera star Lyudmila Monastyrska, soloist of the National Opera of Ukraine and the Metropolitan Opera, took part in the concert dedicated to the 370th anniversary of Kharkiv and the 33rd anniversary of Independence