Samara Academic Opera and Ballet Theater is one of the largest musical theaters in Russia. The Theater’s building is located in the historical center of the city on the largest square in Europe. The Theater was opened on June 1st, 1931 with the opera Boris Godunov by Modest Mussorgsky. During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1944 the Bolshoi Theatre was evacuated to Samara and performed on the stage of Samara Academic Opera and Ballet Theater. On March 5th,1942, the orchestra of Bolshoi Theater under the direction of Samuel Samosud performed the great Seventh (“Leningrad”) Symphony by Dmitry Shostakovich for the first time ever. In 1982 the Theater was awarded with the title of “Academic”. The Theater takes good care of classical traditions of theater arts. Traditional festivals are always a bright part of the Theater’s life. Today its repertoire includes about 50 productions. Annually, the Theater is visited by more than 180,000 spectators, and hosts over 300 events.
