The Guardian: Tbilisi to reopen opera house that has survived tsars, Soviets and civil war

Georgia’s State Opera and Ballet Theatre has experienced a lot in its 165-year history; it has been burnt to the ground, left riddled with bullet holes after being shot at by paramilitaries and almost ran out of money to keep functioning, but culture is ingrained in the people of Georgia and after six years, the iconic venue will be reopened this weekend.

Andrew North for The Guardian penned an informative piece about the rich history of the theatre and it’s six-year, multi-million dollar renovation.

Now, a new era beckons for the 165-year-old home of Georgian opera and ballet: this weekend the theatre is reopening its doors, following a six-year, multimillion-pound refit paid for by the country’s richest man and former prime minister, Bidzina Ivanishvili.”

Culture has always been an important part of daily life in Georgia. During communist rule, Tbilisi was established as one of the premier venues for opera and ballet outside Moscow.

But when the opera house reopened in the 1990s after the civil war, tickets had to be priced so cheap there was no money to pay staff.” The opera’s technical director said: "Maybe opera is a luxury, but in those years in Georgia it was more of a necessity”.

In the past decade Georgia’s prospects have improved, but the challenge still remained to find money for big performances and to maintain the neo-Moorish building.

"Funding for the makeover has come from Ivanishvili, who has promised to pay for the first year’s performances on top of the 100m lari (£28m) renovation bill,” writes North, and questions whether or not this will be enough to entice the big opera and ballet stars back to Tbilisi.

If you want to see exclusive photos of inside the renovated Opera and Ballet Theatre, taken by Agenda.ge photographer Nino Alavidze, click here.

Read the full article here: www.theguardian.com