Ukraine’s National Opera celebrates year of live shows despite sirens and sorrow

A remarkable season in Kyiv has given artists and audience a brief respite from the horror of war

Much of the troupe is still abroad, performances are interrupted by air raid sirens and the number of tickets sold for each performance is limited to the number of people who can fit in the theatre's basement shelter.

But as the curtain comes down on Sunday afternoon at the National Opera of Ukraine in Kyiv - the end of the storied theatre's 155th season - the artists can reflect on a remarkably full year of performances for a theatre operating in the heart of a country at war.