The Ethiopian National Theatre is a national theatre in central

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

Overview

Formerly known as the Haile Selassie I Theater, the hall had begun to be built during the Italian occupation as the Cinema Marconi with some 350 seats. The building was later completed in 1955 for the celebrations of the Silver Jubilee, and expanded to seat 1260 people. The theatre group was founded by the government in the late 1940s, with the main objective of playing Ethiopian songs by soloists accompanied by a modern orchestra. The Austrian composer

Franz Zelwecker Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see Fran ...

became the first director of the National Theater. The theater is divided into two directorates, one for theater and the other for music. The music directorate includes the Izra Folk Music and Dance Group, Yared Modern Orchestra, Dawit POP Orchestra and String Orchestra.

References

Ethiopian Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture
Theatres completed in 1955 Theatres in Ethiopia Buildings and structures in Addis Ababa Culture in Addis Ababa 1955 establishments in Ethiopia {{Ethiopia-struct-stub

Overview

See also

References