Lviv National Opera. A 1900 theater with a sculpted facade, a Hall of Mirrors and a lyre-shaped auditorium for a thousand in central Lviv

The decision to build a new city theater was made at the end of the 19th century: a design competition was announced in 1895, Gołuchowski Square was chosen, and construction began in June 1897. Writer Henryk Sienkiewicz and composer Ignacy Jan Paderewski attended the grand opening. The facade combines Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Baroque with Art Nouveau touches: a portico on Corinthian columns and a triple arcade are crowned by a triangular pediment with Antoni Popiel’s sculptural group “The Joys and Sorrows of Life”, and at the very top rises Piotr Wójtowicz’s statue of “Glory” holding a gilded palm branch. On either side of the facade sit allegorical figures of Comedy and Tragedy. Inside, a vestibule with two-tier loggias, lit by a large glass skylight, leads to the Hall of Mirrors, whose ceiling is painted with allegories and scenes from performances. It holds busts of Solomiya Krushelnytska, Oleksandr Myshuha and other great artists. The lyre-shaped auditorium has four tiers and 44 boxes and seats a thousand people, and the metal curtain over the stage is painted with a view of Lviv from the Stryi hills. The theater’s repertoire includes more than twenty operas and about twenty ballets. Operas are sung in the original language, with Ukrainian surtitles displayed above the stage. The box office is open daily except Monday, from 11:00 to 18:00.