Extract from the Art and Culture Magazine "St Peterburg" (Toronto, Canada) , article Mariinka's "Did you know": Stories about world-famous Theatre

Many people, if asked to plan a trip to St.Petersburg, pick two destinations – the Hermitage Museum and Mariinsky Theatre.. One can easily imagine the excitement one feels when one crosses the doors and sees the bust of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, after whom the theatre is named, and the adjacent miniature model of the stage, with seats the size of thumbnails, for the first time. The emotions run higher when one takes one’s seat and watches the famous velvet curtain with its golden appliques by Alexander Golovin – the symbol of Mariinka – and then watches the divine dance of the charming ballerinas, or listens to the music and the voices of famous singers...

I would like to treat my readers to a special – a rare virtual tour of the theatre.
It takes us behind the curtain, where every step and every door hold memories about great performers, artists and musicians.
“This September we start another season in Mariinka, but this year is special – it is 150th anniversary of the opening of the theatre’s current venue, a truly historic building. The theatre itself is older – for its Musical Company this season is No. 228. It was old enough for Alexander Pushkin himself to dedicate verses to it. Yet its name stems from the building, erected in 1860 by architect Albert Cavos. The then Emperor, Alexander II, decided to give the new venue a romantic name, and it was christened after his wife, Maria Alexandrovna.

The main hall of Mariinka is unique among opera theatres thanks to its “lyric” colours – usually you see red and gold in the opera, but here it is gold and blue. The balconies and the boxes form a delicate golden horseshoe over the orchestra, with the largest box, the Tsar box, located right in front of the stage, sporting blue velvet curtains. The painted ceiling depicts noontide – if a spectator lifts his head up, he will see twelve bucolic maidens dancing hand in hand with cupids, and twelve medallions depicting Russian playwrights, such as Kapnist, von Wiesen, Ozerov, Prince Shakhovskoy, Gogol et al. This hall is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful in the world. Its crown jewel is the three-tiered crystal and bronze chandelier. Its total weight is 2500 kg, and every year, before the season starts, the technicians will manually lower it from its place 20 meters up in the air down to the floor and wash each and every one of its 23 thousand (!) crystal pendants. There is a legend that the chandelier would hum melodically when Chaliapin was performing. At one point the acoustics of Mariinka were considered the best in Russia, and it was an entirely Russian production. A special acoustical addition was thin wooden panelling that provided for a very delicate musical balance. But probably the most surprising thing is that this building on the Theatre Square of St.Petersburg, erected where the Theatre-Circus once stood (it burnt down), called at the time the most modern theatre building in Europe, took only one year to build.

We go up the stairs to the level of the Tsar box and reach the main lobby, also called "White Hall", adjacent to a "Napravnik Lobby" named after the legendary conductor who lead Mariinka orchestra for more than 50 years, from 1863 until his death. Napravnik was a very modest man, a friend of famous Russian composers: Tchaikovsky, Glazunov, Rimsky-Korsakov. He is the one responsible for making the Russian opera the cornerstone of the Mariinka repertoire, having conducted premieres of several dozens Russian scores.
He was also the creator of the unique performance style of Mariinka – a precise one and one that follows the composer’s text to the very letter. His punctuality was also legendary – he was “the clock” for his musicians, who would jokingly mark the precise time they have to start their parts in the score.

But the staircases do not end there, so one can go up to the very top, under the cupola, and reach the famous Golovinsky Hall, a repository for the “art history” of Mariinka. It was there that artists such as Golovin, Benois, Bilibin, Korovin, Fedorovsky, Virsaladze would paint the future opera sets. The foldable sets, even the largest full-size backdrops are painted here even now – the enormous hall with its oval windows that seem to open up to the grey St.Petersburg sky, is ideal as a location for that type of work. Even its air is thick with legends – it was the hall’s floor that bore an oil painting of Chaliapin’s feet, for it was here that Golovin painted the famous singer in Boris Godunov’s attire and several other stage costumes.

And this is just one such story that Mariinka teems with.

© Text 2010 Art and Culture Magazine "St Peterburg"
© Photo 1999-2005 "Tickets of Russia"

Mariinsky Theatre Virtual Tour

The Mariinsky Theatre represents a unique cultural force on the world stage among performing arts organizations. Its touring schedule and residencies abroad total more than 200 performances each year and span the globe, from North America, to Europe, Asia and beyond. The Mariinsky‘s artistic impact and its ambassadorial role on behalf of Russian culture have been recognized by governments and international organizations alike.
The Mariinsky Theatre was established in 1783 following a decree by Empress Catherine the Great to stage the first Russian comic operas and the best works of foreign composers. The current theatre building on Theatre Square was opened in 1860. The theatre‘s magnificent decor of dazzling white sculptures, lustrous gilt chandeliers and light blue upholstery created the perfect atmosphere in which to herald in St. Petersburg‘s golden period of operatic history.
In 1862, Giuseppe Verdi‘s La Forza del Destino premiered on the Mariinsky stage and opened the door for the premieres of Russian masterpieces such as Boris Godunov (1874), Prince Igor (1890), and The Queen of Spades (1890). The Mariinsky Theatre, under the baton of Eduard Napravnik, quickly took its place among the world‘s leading opera houses. The theater‘s ballet company under the director of Marius Petipa was equally distinguished, premiering Peter Tchaikovsky‘s Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty and influencing the development of classical dance for generations to come.
At the beginning of the 20th Century, legendary artists such as Fyodor Chaliapin, Anna Pavlova and Vladislav Nijinsky graced the Mariinsky‘s stage. Under Soviet rule, the Mariinsky Theatre was renamed the Kirov Theatre, a change which did not alter the high quality of its artistic productions or affect the supreme talents of the dancers, musicians and singers performing on its stage.
In 1988, Valery Gergiev was appointed Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Kirov Opera. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the theatre reverted to its pre-Revolutionary name, and in 1996, Gergiev was named Artistic and General Director of the Mariinsky Theatre. Under his leadership the Kirov Opera, Ballet and Orchestra have continued to garner worldwide praise.

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