The modern building was constructed by Fellner & Helmer in neo-baroque (Vienna Baroque) style and opened in 1887.

[5][6] In 1831, Michael Vorontsov, governor-general of Russian empire, Novorossia kray (currently part of Ukraine) decided to assign the old instituted quarantine fees to the Odessa Theatre.

When ticket sales were low, he would announce the discovery of an infection among newly arrived passengers and ordered them to be quarantined at their own cost.

[5][10] Finally, the project was drafted along the lines of Dresden Semperoper built in 1878, with its nontraditional foyer following the curvatures of auditorium.

[11] Two Viennese architects, Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer began to construct the larger replacement in 1883.

On the roofs of the houses adjacent to the theatre, guns were installed that shot all 73 days of the city defending.

The theatre's eastern half sagged almost seven inches in its first three years, and the six walls began to tilt.

In the niches are the busts of Mikhail Glinka, Nikolai Gogol, Alexandr Griboyedov and Alexander Pushkin.

The large hall was modelled after the style of Louis XVI, and is richly decorated with gilded stucco figures and designs.