In the 18th and 19th century opera shows started to be more and more popular in Timisoara, as foreign groups and composers became heroes of the day, and especially the financial and cultural elite of the city learned to enjoy this "strange" passion. By the middle of the 19th century, the public was so in demand of opera shows, that the building of an Opera House in Timisoara became a must. In 1871, under the guidance of Helmer and Fellner, two well known architects from Vienna, the building of the Culture Palace began. It was one of the most ambitious public buildings of the city, but despite the difficulties and costs it was ready in 1875. The impressive new palace would host the opera and theatre shows in it's central part and besides the many rooms that the actors needed also has several small shops.
Unfortunatelly, the building was badly damaged in two fires. The first was in 1880 and it would take two long years for the Opera House to be reconstructed. The second one, in1920, was even more severe and only part of the original structure survived. This time, the reconstruction was made after the plans drawn by Duiliu Marcu, and only the side of the building still kept the original style. The rest was redone in the style very much in fashion in the day. In the main hall the frescoes were done by Kiriakoff and their sources of inspiration came from the history and folk tales of Romania.
The State Opera of Timisoara was officially founded in March 1946, and the first director of this prestigious institution was Aca de Barbu. A state institution, the Opera in Timisoara would host some of the most important shows of the genre, ranging from Tosca, Traviata, Rigoletto to Carmen, Cavalleria rusticana, Nabucco and so on, not to mention some Romanian compositions. Also, over the years, the Opera hosted several ballet performances, like Giselle, Swan Lake and many others. Some of the greatest singers, conductors, musicians have graced the Opera with their presence over the years, and several times the musicians from the Romanian Opera went abroad.
After 1990, a new chapter began in the history of the State Opera in Timisoara. Some new opera shows have nejoyed great success, the artists traveled all over the world, great care has been taken into diversifying the offer of shows. Everytime the opera shows put together here enjoyed great popularity and success, far beyond the expectations, and it is not a rare this not being able to find a ticket for certain shows.
2008-03-10
