The back story
Kyiv’s arts: the Opera, the Arsenal and the theatres that never closed
The National Opera, the Franko, the Lesya Ukrainka and the Molodyi theatres, the Mystetskyi Arsenal, the Khanenko Museum, the Dovzhenko Centre and the contemporary galleries: Kyiv’s arts today.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Posterrr · CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia CommonsKyiv’s stages have kept playing through the war, with performances timed around the curfew and paused for air alerts. The National Opera of Ukraine performs in its theatre on Volodymyrska Street; the Ivan Franko, Lesya Ukrainka and Molodyi theatres, and the Operetta, keep full repertoires. The Mystetskyi Arsenal, the national cultural complex in the old arsenal by the Lavra, shows exhibitions; the Dovzhenko Centre keeps the national film archive; and the Khanenko Museum holds the city’s finest collection of world art.
On stage
The Taras Shevchenko National Opera and Ballet Theatre, the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theatre, the Lesya Ukrainka National Academic Drama Theatre, the Molodyi Theatre and the Kyiv National Academic Operetta Theatre all publish their repertoires and sell tickets on their own sites. The National House of Music holds the Kyiv Baroque Fest.
The collections
The Khanenko Museum, at 15–17 Tereshchenkivska Street, is founded on the collection of Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko and opens Wednesday to Sunday, 10.30am to 5.30pm (its site). The Mystetskyi Arsenal is the national cultural, art and museum complex.
Film
The Dovzhenko Centre keeps Ukraine’s national film archive and screens its films.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Гатерас · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsThe galleries
The Voloshyn Gallery and Ya Gallery show contemporary Ukrainian art.
Matinees are the easiest to plan around the curfew; buy from the theatre’s own box office or website.
Our advice: check the day’s programme in the morning; performances are rescheduled when the night is restless.
Why it's on our list
- On stage
- The collections
- Film
- The galleries
Location
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