Iași, in eastern Romania, set to build a new Opera house

Iași City Hall recently announced that the new headquarters of the city’s Opera will be built in Copou, on a parcel of land owned by the County Council. Romania’s Ministry of Culture had threatened to withdraw funding unless a site for this project was found quickly.

The new location was announced by mayor Mihai Chirica and the head of the Iași County Council, Costel Alexe. The former said during a press conference on Tuesday that he, together with the County Council, had identified the site. The land measures 12,000 square meters and is owned by the County Council, located near the current headquarters of the ApaVital company in Iași.

"There is an agreement between the City Hall and the County Council. We will send a letter to the Ministry of Culture tomorrow with the new location," Chirica said, according to News.ro. He also said that other sites in the central area of Iași had been considered, but had uncertain legal situations.

The head of the Iasi County Council, Costel Alexe, stated that there is no better site in the city for the Opera than the one in Copou.

On January 23, minister of culture Lucian Romașcanu warned that Iași could lose funding for the construction of the National Opera if the City Hall did not provide a site of 11,000 square meters in the center of the city within six months. He also added that in Iași, politics plays a more significant role than culture, and that this is a danger to the construction of the new Opera.

Funding for this project is expected to be provided through a loan from the Council of Europe Development Bank. Eight major cultural projects in Romania will be funded, including the new headquarters of the National Opera in Iași.

(Photo source: Opera Nationala Romana Iasi on FB)