"Destination: Bucharest" - A night at the Opera

On Saturday afternoon, only the passing of a trolleybus or the sporadic traffic disturbs the calm that envelops the Opera Park. Several parents have taken their children to the park, an owner is walking his dog, and a few fans of scooter rides are taking a ride nearby. Only the lights turned on at the Opera’s entrance and the banner on the façade let in on the event that is about to begin: the opening of the season with a performance of “Samson and Delilah.”

Shortly before six, everything changes. The cars and taxis bringing the public to the performance start to arrive and the alley in front of the Opera starts filling up with the audience members. The building’s front steps are livened up by the conversations of those who already arrived and are waiting for their friends at the entrance. Text messages are sent and phone calls are made to check for any potential delays. The performance starts at 6:30 and nobody wants to miss the new staging of Saint-Saëns’s opera, with well-known tenor Aleksandrs Antonenko as Samson for the premiere performances.