(news report)

The National Opera of Ukraine resumed its work after a long lull. On May 21, an awards ceremony for Ukrainian artists took place, and the comic opera ‘The Barber of Seville’ was successfully performed.

So far, the theater is open only on weekends and can provide 300 seats out of possible 1,300. This is due to the new safety rules, so that in the case of an air alarm, spectators can take cover in the dressing room.

Among the innovations are free entry for Ukrainian military and exclusion of all Russian works from the repertory.

Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Oleksandr Tkachenko congratulated on the resumption of the National Opera of Ukraine. ‘Today we live in two worlds. On the one hand, the war, on the other, we must continue to live. And that art brings us back to the beautiful and bright… I’m glad that even in such difficult times the National Opera gathers a full house and finally comes back to life… Culture is one of the key elements of national identity.’

In the nearest future, the theater will increase the number of performances to two per day.