By: Max Lin

The Odessa House, an Opera in Ukraine, opens despite increasing pressure from the barbarism of Putin. The nearby commercial docks, each owned by a different company, is important both strategically, economically, and moral wise, as the port used to be Russian. On the dock is the Odessa Opera House, built in 1810, that provided music until war broke out between Russia and Ukraine. For safety reasons, the Opera House closed, until it opened on Friday, June 17. Ukraine believes that in order to win the war, things must run as normal. Marina Najmytenko, a soprano who played Juliet in Odessa, brimmed with pride and emotion. “It is art that is going to help us survive and to preserve our essence so that we win this war,” she said. “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” Gennadiy Trukhanov, the mayor of Odessa, said in an interview. “If Mr. Putin dared to strike the opera, the hatred he would face throughout the world is unimaginable.” There are also many other people who support the opening of the Opera House and to all of them, it is not reasonable for war to hinder art and music. The mayor is under pressure to rename the road, which was named after a Russian playwright, but he refused. He said that even though they were at war with a country, it should not cause hatred toward anything Russian.