About event
This is where the heroes of famous operettas and musicals come to life; a place people visit for celebration and inspiration, where everything feels cozy, beautiful, and sublime. But what lies behind the curtains, where handsome young leads and elegant ladies transform back into ordinary Kyivites?
Join us as we reveal the secrets of the National Operetta of Ukraine.
During the tour, we will discover how a "People's House" differed from a theater, why Mykola Sadovsky was allowed to lease a building on the outskirts of Kyiv, where Mariia Zankovetska’s dressing room was located, and which famous Ukrainians were connected to this landmark on Velyka Vasylkivska Street.
We will discuss the first permanent Ukrainian theater and its stars, recall the two founding dates of the Operetta Theater, and learn about its first director, for whom the "light" genre proved to be deadly.
Furthermore, we will share how the theater lives today—its gradual transformation into a "Kyiv Versailles," its creative experiments, and its multi-genre evolution. We will visit every stage to see the auditorium through the eyes of the actors, stop by the costume department with its unique collection of dresses, tailcoats, and top hats (perhaps we’ll even get to try something on!), and try to count the treasures of the props department while distinguishing fake fruit from the real thing. Finally, we’ll peek into a dressing room to see how actors prepare for a performance.
