Opera and Ballet Theatre, Armenia, Yerevan

The Opera and Ballet Theatre was built in 1926-1963 by the design of the most famous Armenian architect Alexander Tamanyan. The construction of The Theatre Hall was completed in 1939, and the Philharmonic Hall in 1963. Building design, involving the possible joining of two halls together, was awarded the Grand Prix and a Gold Medal at the World exhibition in Paris in 1936. But this project could not be accurately transmitted into reality because of technical difficulties for its construction, or maybe of the death of Tamanyan in 1936. The Theatre building stands directly on the line of the Northern Avenue and looks like as its compositional completion. On the opposite of the South side of the building is located the Theater Square (or Freedom Square) with statues of writer Hovhannes Tumanyan and composer Alexander Spendiaryan. In front of the Philharmonic Hall is a monument of world famous Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian. Recently, under the Theater Square, a three-level parking for 500 cars has been built.