New opera building in place of Staklenac or within Belgrade Waterfront?

(The National Theater) By submitting the proposition to the city authorities for raising a new opera building within the Belgrade Waterfront which might house the most demanding ballet and opera productions, Konstantin Kostjukov, Acting Ballet Manager at the National Theater in Belgrade, has made an old story current again.

As Novosti learns unofficially, the competent city authorities are nevertheless more in favor of the idea to locate the opera house in close proximity to the National Theater Building, in place of Staklenac on the Republic Square, an idea which the opera legend Zivan Saramandic passionately supported in his time. The same idea is advocated by Dejan Savic, Acting General Manager of the National Theater, who has pointed out on several occasions that it would make sense for the new opera house to be located in the neighborhood of its parent institution and to be designed to make a whole with the National Theater building.

While old arguments and propositions are being revived and new ones introduced, Belgrade remains the only European capital without an opera building.

Kostjukov, therefore, believes that the Belgrade Waterfront project is the right place to put and end to the decade long dilemma of where to build the opera house, during which numerous propositions on the potential location have been made and which has seen many arguments between the advocates of having the opera house in place of Staklenac and those who believe that it should be built at New Belgrade's Usce. As the man who was the first to publicly propose the “Opera Waterfront”, Kostjukov emphasizes that he is open to meetings and talks with all relevant persons, from the city architect to the highest state authorities.

– I am convinced that the authorities will understand the importance of this proposition, as the new opera building is more important than all those hotels and other planned features – Kostjukov points out.

– I understand that they are looking at the economic aspect first, and it's up to us to submit a proposition pertaining to the entire cultural scene. It's certainly important for tourists to have a nice place to spend a night at, but what draws them to our city is what they can see in it. And, is there a better place for the opera and ballet house than in the neighborhood of all those beautiful old buildings in Karadjordjeva Street, right next to the river?