Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre

The Tbilisi State Opera and Ballet Theater named after Zacharia Paliashvili (Georgian: თბილისის ზაქარია ფალიაშვილის სახელობის სახელმწიფო ოპერისა და ბალეტის თეატრი, romanized: tbilisis zakaria paliashvilis sakhelobis sakhelmts'ipo op'erisa da balet'is teat'ri), shortly Paliashvili Theatre (Georgian: ფალიაშვილის თეატრი, romanized: paliashvilis teat'ri), is an opera house situated on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi, Georgia. Founded in 1851, Tbilisi Opera is the main opera house of Georgia and is among the oldest opera houses in Eastern Europe. Since 1896, the former Tiflis Imperial Theater has resided in an exotic neo-Moorish edifice originally constructed by Victor Johann Gottlieb Schröter, a prominent architect of Baltic German origin. Although definitively Oriental in its decorations and style, the building's layout, foyers and the main hall are that of a typical European opera house. Since its foundation, the theater has been damaged by several fires and underwent major rehabilitation works under Soviet and Georgian leadership; the most recent restoration effort concluded in January 2016, having taken six years and costing approximately 40 million U.S. dollars, donated by a Georgian business foundation. The opera house is one of the centers of cultural life in Tbilisi and was once home to Zacharia Paliashvili, the Georgian national composer whose name the institution has carried since 1937. The Opera and Ballet Theater also houses the State Ballet of Georgia under the leadership of internationally renowned Georgian ballerina Nina Ananiashvili. In recent years it has hosted opera stars such as Montserrat Caballé and José Carreras, while also serving as a traditional venue for national celebrations and presidential inaugurations.