By: Amy Liu

The war of Russia and Ukraine is still raging on, and many families living in Ukraine are

deprived of food, water, and simple life necessities.; However, the city of Odesa

decided to, at the very least try, to resemble a sense of normalcy by opening up the

famous Odesa Opera House and plans to lead performances this Friday.

The war intensified in Odesa, Ukraine, as food shortages began to grow and

families began to lose hope of any sense of normal life. In fact, the president of Russia: Vladimir

Putin is currently thinking about invading central Odessa, as far as the economy is concerned.

However, as history shows, the city had always “lived for the moment”.

The theater will include performances of Romeo and Juliet, as well as an aria from Tosca. The

music seems to showcase the definitive culture of the Ukrainian people, and the great

reproach to the great damage the Russians have done through Putin’s fixation on

Ukraine as an occupied nation.

“At the start of the war, the explosions and the sirens terrified me,” said Chernukho-Volich, an

opera house performer “as if I had plunged into a World War II movie, but humans get used to

everything. It is difficult, but we want to believe in the victory of civilization”.

However, the people of Ukraine strongly believe that “It is important to show that Odesa is alive,

Ukraine is alive,”, said Gennadiy Trukhanov, and that “If Putin dares to strike the opera, the

hatred that he would face from around the world would be unimaginable”

“Odesa is its own nationality,” said Grigori Barats, and the Ukrainians of Odesa are

determined to show it.