The Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre — known locally simply as NOVAT — is the largest opera house in Russia and one of the most distinctive pieces of architecture in Siberia. The dome, which spans 60 metres, was the largest in the Soviet Union when it was completed, and the building as a whole is a monumental statement of Soviet cultural ambition planted emphatically in the middle of the Asian continent.
The companies inside have long outgrown any regional label. The ballet company in particular has trained generations of dancers and performed internationally at a level that puts it alongside the Bolshoi and Kirov. If you are in Novosibirsk, go to a performance — tickets are cheap by any international standard, the repertoire is solid, and the building is worth seeing from inside. Book ahead for popular productions; the box office also takes walk-up tickets on the day.