The Samara Academic Opera and Ballet Theater is one of the largest musical theaters in Russia. Its first performance took place on June 1, 1931. Two years later, the theater’s ballet troupe was created. It was headed by a soloist from St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theater and a participant in the legendary Diaghilev seasons in Paris, Yevgenia Lopukhova. During the Second World War, it was in this theater that the premiere of Shostakovich’s Leningrad Symphony was given, half a year before the renowned concert given in besieged Leningrad. At the beginning of the 21st century, the Samara Opera and Ballet Theater went through a magnificent reconstruction, restoring its historic architectural appearance and interiors.