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Lviv is such a vibrant, bustling, city it’s only when the air raid sirens wail that you remember Ukraine is at war. During an unseasonably warm autumn when I visited, everything appeared to be functioning normally. This included the Solomiya Krushelnytska Lviv State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, to give what locals call the ‘opera theatre’ its full title. The 1900 Neo Renaissance/Baroque building is named after one of the 20^th century’s most feted sopranos, who was born in Lviv, and many people pose for photos in front of Krushelnytska’s portrait on the magnificent staircase.

One of the few concessions to the war is the earlier start times because of the curfew. On the Saturday I was there, the 6pm performance was prefaced by an announcement telling us to go to the shelter if the siren sounded. If the all clear came within the hour, the performance would resume. Then the orchestra struck up a beautiful rendition of the Ukrainian national anthem. Most people sang while clasping their hands to their hearts, deep in thought. A solemn moment and a reminder that because many cultural buildings are targeted by the Russians, going to a performance is itself an act of resistance.

Sung in Italian with Ukrainian surtitles, Verdi’s La Traviata was a stylish, traditional production from stage director Giuseppe Visciglia with lavish set designs (Tady Ryndzak) and fabulous costumes (Oksana Zinchenko). Although Visciglia’s direction was straightforward, the tightly integrated action was fluid and seamless with all the singers moving with confidence and an engaging verisimilitude. In the busy scenes when there were lots of people on stage, such as the party at Flora’s house in Act III, Petro Malkhasyants’s choreography and Vadym Yatsenk’s well-drilled chorus provided lively contributions without distracting from the interactions between the main characters.

Before the Russian invasion, Lviv Opera had a reputation for the high quality of their performances. Given that most men of fighting age are mobilized it was heartening to see that standards remain extremely high. Like many cultural organisations, the opera company can ask the Ministry of Culture for special dispensation for essential workers. However, this does mean casting three singers for each of the main roles. For the performance I attended, Marianna Tsvietinska (Violetta) and Maksym Vorochek (Alfredo) were the ill-fated couple. They had fine support from Olena Skitsko (Flora), Marianna Mazur (Annina), Roman Strakhov (Germon) and Andrii Beniuk (Baron) who sang superbly and with passion.

Lviv National Opera - opera.lviv.ua