By: Emma Lu

In Odessa, Ukraine, the opera house held its first performance since it initially closed because of the war, but since the Russians couldn’t advance into the city and no conflict has occurred near the city, the decision was made to reopen the opera house.

“We got permission to perform from the military 10 days ago, and today is pure happiness,” said Mr. Chernukho-Volich, the opera’s chief conductor. People are happy to see the opera house reopened, and this shows a sign of life returning to normal in the city.

Since the war started, the city of Odessa has become Ukraine’s only remaining major port on the Black Sea which eventually connects to the Mediterranean Sea and from there, the world oceans, which makes it a potential target for a Russian attack, as they seek to block Ukraine’s access to the sea. Russia initially seemed to advance quickly, though that advance has slowed and even been reversed in some parts of Ukraine. Due to the Russian advance stalling, officials felt that it was safe enough to re-open the opera house. Still, some Russian rocket and artillery attacks can happen, with fighting ongoing not that far east in and around the city of Mykolaiv. The re-opening of the opera house shows that even in the darkest of times, people can still have fun. “It is important to show that Odesa is alive, that Ukraine is alive, that we want to live and create, while the way of the Russian occupiers is killing and death,” said Gennadiy Trukhanov, the mayor of Odessa.

Original Story: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/18/world/europe/odesa-opera-ukraine-russia.html