National Opera of Ukraine
The National Opera of Ukraine in Kyiv began in 1867 and is the second oldest opera in Ukraine, after Odesa and before Lviv. It performs at the Kyiv Opera House, named after Taras Shevchenko. The company was started in the summer of 1867 by Ferdinand Berger, who gathered talented singers, musicians, and conductors. The troupe began in the City Theatre, often called the Russian Opera, and the first performance on November 8, 1867 (October 27 old style) was Askold’s Tomb by Verstovsky, with Nataliya Mykhaylovska in the cast. Early seasons mix Russian operas and translated European works, including Glinka, Dargomyzhsky, Rubinstein, Weber, Mozart, Donizetti, and Verdi, which became popular with Kyiv audiences.
In 1896 a fire destroyed the City Theatre after a morning performance of Eugene Onegin. The troupe then used other venues for several years. Kyiv held an international contest to design a new opera house, won by Victor Schröter. The new building opened on September 29, 1901, with a cantata Kyiv and Glinka’s Life for the Tsar. In 1911, Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tale of Tsar Saltan was performed there in the Tsar’s presence; during the intermission, a political assassination occurred nearby, and Stolypin later died from his injuries.
In the early 20th century, the Kyiv Opera attracted top Ukrainian and Russian singers, and visiting stars from the West. The theatre also hosted unusual performances for the time, such as Wagner’s Die Walküre and other works. In 1917 the opera house hosted important congresses and became a focal point of Ukrainian state life, and operas were staged in Ukrainian, especially in 1918 with titles like Faust, La Traviata, Boheme, and Madama Butterfly. The Ukrainian press urged the theatre to be strong and culturally independent.
After Ukraine joined the Soviet Union, the theatre was nationalized and renamed several times: K. Liebknecht State Opera House, then Kiev State Academic Ukrainian Opera, and later the Academic Opera and Ballet Theater of the USSR. In 1936 the theatre received the Order of Lenin, and in 1939 it was named after Taras Shevchenko. A 1926 decree required operas to be performed in Ukrainian, boosting Ukrainian culture and language, a practice that continued until the early 1990s.
In 1981 the theatre staged the world premiere of a ballet about Olga of Kiev to mark Kyiv’s 1500th anniversary. From 1991 to 1999 Anatoliy Mokrenko led the theatre, and from 1992 to 2000 Anatoliy Shekera headed it as general director. The company continued to perform classics like Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, as well as contemporary works, including Spartacus and Legends of Love. Since 1999 Petro Chupryna has been the director general, and from 2002 to 2011 and again since 2018 he has been the artistic director as well. Myroslav Skoryk served as artistic director from 2011 to 2018. The National Opera has toured widely abroad in Europe, North America, and beyond.
In 2017 Ukraine celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Taras Shevchenko National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater in Kyiv. The opera Natalka Poltavka was scheduled as the last performance before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 07:37 (CET).