It was nearing the end of my trip and I could hardly believe it. I didn’t think it would go by nearly so quickly. It was a 2-week trip, which may seem short but for someone who has *never* gone on a trip for longer than 10 days or so, it was longer than the norm. Perhaps some of it was that I had gotten sick for a few days (Monday-Thursday) and really was out of commission, but either way, the time flew and I knew I wanted to hit the Opera House, Potocki Palace and a few others that I assumed I’d have time beforehand.

By the time I found myself on the website purchasing tickets, there was only one show I could attend (due to leaving in two days!) and it was Гуцулка Ксеня or in English, Hutsulka Ksenya. The Lviv Opera House, while called the “Opera House” is not just Operas at all, but in fact has plays, ballets, operas, of course, concerts and more.

Entrance/What if I’m Late?
I believe I was maybe 5-10 minutes late. It didn’t start at that time, but I just remember being worried that they wouldn’t let me in if I was late. The main entrance was open and then there were people scanning tickets at the first doorway between the main door and the “lobby” of the Opera House. No one had a problem with it at all and when I did go into the *mesmerizing* lobby, I was lead up the stairs and when I showed the lady my ticket, she opened the door (I had a balcony) with a key and I walked inside.

Tickets:
I had gotten a ticket online, at the seat behind the front row. Mainly due to the price. It’s not expensive by any means, but of course you want to save where you can, and it mostly worked out. Now, I kind of don’t understand why they have back rows in the balcony areas because you really can’t see in the second row and definitely not with any rows behind mine. Thankfully, the people in front asked if I wanted to come forwards, so I obliged. I was still a little sick from whatever I had caught in the middle of my trip, but both ladies in front (seemed like an adult woman and her mother) were coughing in the start as well. I, of course tried not to hack up a long the entire time, sipping on my water bottle and whether it was annoying or they thought I was sick and probably shouldn’t be out anyways- I was unsure about but I had said thank you at the end and the younger lady just kind of stared at me. Whoops! They weren’t rude by any means and I much appreciated them offering for me to sit with them, but I, of course felt bad.

In terms of sickness, my friend, here in America who is from Ukraine said that she always gets sick when she’s travels back, likely due to the close quarters of everyone here as opposed to America, where people are a little more spread out, and there were definitely people in the kitchen (I’ll talk about that in another post; you can visit all my Ukraine posts by clicking here) who were coughing and hacking up a lung, some expats even mentioned it as a “thing” but when I was on the plane back to America, I actually sat next to someone who was coming from Ukraine. Considering it was from my Poland to Germany flight, somewhat surprising and she said that Ukrainians were super superstitious about sick people in public. I initially assumed no one cared and everyone was sick and desensitized to it (lol) but maybe not… I’m not sure! Anyways… if you’re sick in Ukraine, let me know if you ever figure out if it’s “fine” or people are paranoid about it! (Or maybe just stay home and rest like what you’re supposed to do LOL).

Гуцулка Ксеня/Hutsulka Ksenya (What was the Play about?):
Without completely spoiling it… Hutsulka Ksenya (Гуцулка Ксеня) is a Ukrainian musical set in the Carpathian Mountains in 1939 (set right before the Soviet occupation of Western Ukraine). The play is classified as a comedy-romance with hints of cultural themes, specifically the attire, as you’ll see in the photos below (also making it a great choice for my trip!)

It’s about a young Ukrainian-American man named Yaro who travels to Ukraine to claim his inheritance. His father tells him that he must marry a “true Ukrainian girl” which is the main plot of the show. He meets Ksenya, a local Hutsul woman and the rest… will not be spoiled by me 😉

What if I don’t Speak Ukrainian?
I don’t speak fluent Ukrainian, or at least didn’t at the time of purchasing the ticket and going. The biggest tip I have is to look at the plot (perhaps even the end) to know the framework for what you’re watching. If you already know what’s happening, you can get the jist of what you’re watching without actually understanding the words. If you have time, going to a ballet may even be a better bet as it’s there’s no speaking and is fully story telling through dance. I’m sure (especially with it being a comedy) it would have been more enjoyable if I could speak Ukrainian fluently, but honestly- I’m glad I saw this show for the cultural aspects of it. Going to a ballet with costumes I could see anywhere, while I was in UKRAINE of all places just wouldn’t do it for me, to be honest!

Do I Recommend the Lviv Opera House?

110% Yes! The place inside is beautiful and if you go when it’s dark out, the outside is absolutely stunning as well. It’s iconic to Lviv and is not something you should miss! The tickets aren’t bad either. However, you can’t go inside the main area without a ticket. Highly recommend!

Website
Address: Svobody Ave, 28, Lviv, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine, 79000

Cheers friends & Travelers!
~Sho, Founder of Backroad Butterflies ~

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