It is not the first time that the premises in Podil (2, Mezhyhirska Street) have been encroached by business. On June 7 the staff of the Kyiv Municipal Opera and Ballet Theater for Children and Youth held a social theatrical protest action against depriving little Kyivites of their theater home. Buratino, Tortila and other characters of children’s plays walked out to remind that after the end of the season the theater might not open its doors in the autumn and the historical monument might cede its place to another shopping mall!
“We held an absolutely peaceful creative action,” Oleksii BAKLAN, art director and conductor, currently acting as a head of the Kyiv Municipal Opera and Ballet Theater for Children and Youth emphasized. “I had a talk with the head of the Culture Department at Kyiv City State Administration Svitlana Zoryna about this complicated situation and whether we will stay in our premises or not. She assured me that the Culture Department is doing its best to extend the lease for our theater. Now the documents are being processed. Soon the new director will be appointed and all the debatable questions will be resolved. I have a hope that we have been heard and the state has comprehended the problem. I would like to emphasize that we held our action in the morning and in the afternoon we performed our play Magic Music (a comic fairy opera, music by Mark Minkov). We will finish the season on June 30. Despite all the problems none of the shows was cancelled! We will perform all the plays declared in our playbill.
“I would like to remind that we share our premises with Kyiv Modern Ballet headed by Radu Poklitaru. They are on a tour now, however, they are also wondering: where will they have their rehearsals and shows in future?
By the way, the current season was significant for the Kyiv Municipal Opera and Ballet Theater for Children and Youth: our opera La Traviata by Verdi received Kyiv Pectoral for best music drama. The premiere drew a wide response among the media and music buffs. And our staff has proved their high professional level once again!”
