Mariinsky Theatre

The Mariinsky Theatre is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in St. Petersburg. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. The Mariinsky Theatre is home to the Mariinsky Ballet, Mariinsky Opera and Mariinsky Orchestra. Since Yuri Temirkanov’s retirement in 1988, the conductor Valery Gergiev has served as its general director.

Although functioning separately from the Theatre’s Ballet Company, both Opera and Ballet Companies are headed by Gergiev as Artistic Director of the entire Theatre. Presently, the Theatre lists 22 sopranos including world-famous Anna Netrebko, 13 mezzo-sopranos, 23 tenors, eight baritones, and 14 basses. The annual international “Stars of the White Nights Festival” held in St. Petersburg, started by Gergiev in 1993, has also put the Mariinsky on the world’s cultural map.

The Theatre’s second stage is being constructed and will result in what some have called St. Petersburg’s equivalent of New York’s Lincoln Center.