Zakaria Paliashvili Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre
Georgia's national opera and ballet house on Rustaveli Avenue, in a Moorish Revival building of 1896.
The Zakaria Paliashvili Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre is Georgia's national lyric stage and one of the oldest opera companies in the Caucasus. A first theatre designed by Giovanni Scudieri opened on Erivansky Square in 1851 and burned down in 1874. The present house on Rustaveli Avenue, designed by the St Petersburg architect Victor Schröter in a Moorish Revival manner, opened in 1896. It was named after the composer Zakaria Paliashvili, whose grave lies in the theatre garden.
The building was damaged by fire again in 1973 and underwent a long restoration between 2010 and 2016, when the auditorium, foyers and stage machinery were renewed. The horseshoe auditorium seats roughly 1,100 and retains its gilded tiers and painted ceiling. Repertoire mixes the international operatic and ballet canon with Georgian works such as Paliashvili's Abesalom and Eteri and Daisi and Dolidze's Keto and Kote. The ballet company has been directed by Nina Ananiashvili since 2004.
Highlights
- Moorish Revival facade of 1896 by Victor Schröter
- Restored horseshoe auditorium seating about 1,100
- Georgian repertoire including Paliashvili's Abesalom and Eteri and Daisi
- Ballet company led by Nina Ananiashvili
