The National Theatre and National Romanian Opera House of Iași

The first theatre play in the Romanian language was directed in 1816 by Gheorghe Asachi, the father of Romanian theatre. In 1833, the „Théâtre de Variétés”, a precursor of the first National Theatre (1840), was founded. The former Grand Copou Theatre hosted this institution starting in 1846, and since 1896 it moved to the current building. The institution’s history is strongly linked to the activity of the playwright Vasile Alecsandri, whose name was given to it, but also to the first graduate actor in Romania, Matei Millo. The Dramatic Philharmonic Conservatory, founded in 1836, is the forerunner of the State Opera in Iași (1956), which later became the Romanian National Opera (2003), an institution marked by the first conductor, Radu Botez. The Great Hall is an important tourist attraction which may be visited before the rehearsals. (PHOTO : Ozolin DUȘA)