National Theater Mihai Eminescu, Chisinau

The National Theater Mihai Eminescu was established on October 10, 1920 by a group of prominent Romanian cultural and public figures, led by the Minister of Bessarabia in the Government of Romania, Sergiu T. Niţă. The troupe worked only one season, delivering 25 performances. In 1935, by ministerial order, theaters in Chisinau, Craiova and Chernivtsi were closed for financial reasons. Although short-lived, the first National Theater in Chisinau has made an important contribution to the culture of Bessarabia.

In 1933, the Moldavian National Theater was founded in the capital of the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Tiraspol. After June 28, 1940, when the territory between the Prut and the Dniester rivers was incorporated into the Soviet Union, on the basis of the Tiraspol theater a new Moldavian State Theater was formed in Chisinau [then Kishinev]. In 1945, it was named after Alexander Pushkin. Shortly afterward, the majority of the Tiraspol troupe moved to Chisinau to join the local artists. The present building was constructed in 1954 and is now counted among the most treasured architectural monuments in the city. Designed by renowned architect Galadjeva, it boasts a grand neoclassic façade, which gives it a timeless appeal. The interior - credited to architects V.F. Alexandrov and V.P. Smirnov - is regal, elegant and opulent. With the walls painted with mural depicting ‘Hora’, and the balconies and lodges having ornate and delicate decoration, the interior of the theater is nothing short of splendour.

In 1994, the theater got the status of national and was renamed Mihai Eminescu. A new page in its history has been opened by talented young actors - students of renowned theater schools in Moscow, Tbilisi, Iasi and Chisinau.