Moldova's national opera and ballet performs in a hulking 1980 Soviet-modernist building on Stefan cel Mare Boulevard — heavy stone, deep loggias, and a 1,400-seat auditorium that is one of the largest opera spaces in Eastern Europe. The company is named for the soprano Maria Bieșu, an internationally acclaimed Moldovan singer who won the Pavarotti Prize in Tokyo in 1967.
The repertoire is mostly Verdi, Puccini, and the standard Tchaikovsky ballets, with an annual Maria Bieșu international competition each September. Tickets cost a fraction of Western prices and you can usually buy them at the box office on the day. Closed in July and August.