The renovated building of the Slovene National Opera and Ballet Theatre Ljubljana

Since 1892 the Slovene National Opera and Ballet Theatre Ljubljana has been located in the building designed in the Neo-Renaissance style by two Czech architects, Jan V. Hrasky and Anton Hruby. The renovation of the building, which has just been completed, began in 2006. Although the stage is now more spacious and technically updated, the number of seats has not changed. Next to slightly enlarged atria is the new foyer and the area dedicated to opera visitors, which includes wardrobes, ticket counters and a room with audio and video recordings as well as a theatre restaurant. The new part of the Opera building provides space for orchestral practice, choir, soloists, ballet dancers, storage rooms, dressing rooms and soon also administrative offices.
After the departure of Christophe Capacci, the artistic director of the Opera, who resigned in July 2011 after only one year in this position, Milivoj Šurbek took over the artistic direction of the Opera. The following season the ballet ensemble will be directed by Irek Mukhamedov, while the direction of the Opera remains in the hands of Mitja Bervar.
The repertoire for the 2011 / 2012 season in the renovated Opera includes the operas Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi (February) and Black Masks by Marij Kogoj (March), the ballet Giselle by Adolphe Adam and David Coleman (March) and ballet performances by six choreographers, entitled The Dance of Poetry (May).