The Mariinsky Theatre is one of the greatest and leading opera and ballet theatres in Russia and the world.
The Mariinsky Theatre is located in Saint Petersburg and has branches in Vladivostok and Vladikavkaz.
Today, the Mariinsky Theater is a technically advanced theater complex in St. Petersburg, including three buildings with seven stages: the Historical Stage (the main building of the Mariinsky Theater), the New Stage Mariinsky -2 with four chamber halls (Musorsky, Prokofiev, Stravinsky and Shchedrin) and an acoustically perfect Concert Hall.
The theater traces its history back to the Bolshoi Stone Theater, founded in 1783 by order of the Empress Catherine II, which was located in a building later rebuilt as the St. Petersburg Conservatory on Theater Square. The theater was opened by Giovanni Paisiello's opera Il Mondo della luna ("The Moon World").
Opposite the Bolshoi Theater in 1847-1848, a circus Theater was built according to the project of Alberto Cavos, which burned down in 1859, and in its place the same architect built a new theater, which was named "Mariinsky" in honor of the reigning Empress Maria Alexandrovna (wife of Emperor Alexander II). The first theatrical season in the new building of the theater opened on October 2, 1860 with Mikhail Glinka's opera "A Life for the Tsar".
Subsequently, the Mariinsky Theater was repeatedly reconstructed. In 1885, the chief architect of the Imperial theaters, Viktor Schroeter, added a three-story building to the left wing of the building. In 1894, under Schroeter's leadership, the wooden rafters were replaced with steel and reinforced concrete, the side wings were added, the audience foyers were expanded, and the main facade was also reconstructed.
In 1886, ballet performances that had previously continued on the stage of the Bolshoi Kamenny Theater were transferred to the Mariinsky Theater. The building of the St. Petersburg Conservatory was built on the site of the Big Stone One.
After the revolution of 1917, the theater changed its name: the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater (GATOB), the Theater of S. M. Kirov. On January 16, 1992, the theater was returned to its historical name - "Mariinsky".
During the Great Patriotic War, the theater was evacuated to the city of Perm, where several performances were premiered, including Aram Khachaturian's ballet "Gayane". After returning to Leningrad, the theater opened the season on September 1, 1944 with Glinka's opera Ivan Susanin.
In 1968-1970, a general reconstruction of the theater was carried out according to the project of Salome Gelfer, as a result of which the left wing of the building was "stretched" and the theater acquired its current appearance.
Today, this main historical building (historical stage) of the Mariinsky Theater is located on Teatralnaya Square, house 1, near the waters of the Kryukov Canal, between the Decembrist Bridge and the Trade Bridge.
Layout of the historical stage of the Mariinsky Theater
Mariinsky-2
Near the main building of the Mariinsky Theater, across the Kryukov Canal, there is a new theater building called "Mariinsky-2" (New Stage), where the most modern works and innovative productions are created and shown.
Address of the Mariinsky-2: 34 Dekabristov Street.
The Mariinsky-2 repertoire, with its state - of-the-art stage and chamber venues, is designed to connect the history of the Mariinsky Theatre with contemporary works of various genres-opera, ballet, symphonic music, as well as the possibility of conducting educational and educational projects, chamber vocal and instrumental programs.
The Mariinsky-2 building has a total area of 79,114 m2.
The auditorium can accommodate up to 1,830 spectators.
The theater building has seven aboveground and three underground floors; the main, rehearsal and backstage areas, rehearsal halls for ballet, opera, choir and orchestra, chamber platforms in the lobby, an amphitheater on the roof, which is one of the venues of the festival "Stars of White Nights", a cafe, auxiliary rooms and an underground parking service.
Chamber halls in the Mariinsky-2
The theater has four chamber halls that bear the names of great composers whose work is associated with the theater: Modest Mussorgsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Igor Stravinsky and Rodion Shchedrin.
The capacity of each hall is about 120 seats.
The Prokofiev Hall is located on the first, underground, floor and is intended mainly for performances by pianists.
The Stravinsky Foyer is a chamber platform in the audience part of the theater, located on the fourth floor.
A special feature of this concert space is the high, step-like rows of seats for the audience. The Lobby hosts concerts, interactive educational programs for children and young people, and Sunday lectures for performances for all age categories of viewers.
Shchedrin Hall is located on the fourth floor in the audience part of the theater. The hall hosts concerts, film screenings, lectures and music classes, both for adults and for the youngest theatergoers.
The hall looks like an ultra-modern auditorium with a steep rise in the stalls and large windows starting from the floor and reaching up to the middle of the wall.
The Mussorgsky Hall is located on the fifth floor.
In the hall, the soloists of the Mariinsky Academy of Young Opera Singers show their programs, as well as the "Soloist's Ballet" cycle, in which the leading singers of the opera company perform solo programs.
Observation terrace in the Mariinsky-2
Mariinsky-2 has an outdoor roof terrace, which, in summer, can be visited an hour before the start of the performance. The terrace offers a view of the historical center of St. Petersburg.
Tickets for the tour to the terrace can be purchased at the ticket offices of the Mariinsky-2 or at the reception desk, an hour before the start of the current performance, if you have a ticket for the performance.
Appearance of the Mariinsky-2
The exterior facade of the Mariinsky-2 building, compared to the "old" building opposite, looks light and modern.
The building is made of beige Jurassic marble, cut through with high panoramic windows of various sizes and topped with a metal roof. Due to these windows, you can see the inner lobby of the theater from the outside, and the Kryukov Canal from the inside. Above the main entrance to the theater (the corner of Dekabristov and Kryukov Canal streets) there is a rectangular canopy made of glass and metal.
Near the outer wall of the Mariinsky-2, on the side of the Kryukov Canal embankment, there is a fragment of the wall of the Lithuanian Market, recreated during the construction of the theater building.
In 1787-1789, a market was built on the corner of Officer Street (now Dekabristov Street) and the Kryukov Canal embankment, designed by architect Giacomo Quarenghi. The market was named "Lithuanian", because of the nearby Lithuanian Castle, where the Lithuanian Musketeer Regiment was quartered.
In 1920, the shopping malls were destroyed by fire, and in their place in 1929-1930, architects Nikolai Miturich and Vasily Makashov built the Palace of Culture named after the First Five-Year Plan.
In 2013, the palace gave way to the new stage of the Mariinsky Theater (Mariinsky-2), built by architect Jack Diamond.
Through Kryukov, the old stage of the Mariinsky Theater and the Mariinsky-2 are connected by a suspended covered glass passage.
Mariinsky Theatre Concert Hall
Not far from the Mariinsky-2, at the address: 20 Pisareva Street (entrance from 37 Dekabristov Street), there is a Concert hall of the Mariinsky Theater.
The building of the Concert Hall is historically associated with the Mariinsky Theater. In 1900, according to the project of Viktor Schroeter, a Decorative shop and a hall of the Directorate of the Imperial Theaters were built on this site, which was taken over by the Mariinsky Theater in 1917.
In September 2003, a fire broke out in the building of the Decoration Workshops. The current building of the Mariinsky Theatre Concert Hall was built on the site of the burned-down building, in the form of which the historical facade that survived the fire was preserved. At the same time, a new facade was built on the opposite side of the building, facing Dekabristov Street, which is a kind of personification of the architecture of the 21st century. So, according to the architect of the project - Xavier Fabre, the architectural features of the Concert Hall should organically combine the elements of the "present century and the past century".
On November 29, 2006, the presentation of the new Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theater took place.
The concert hall is intended for concert programs.
The hall provides the possibility of the desired transformation of the stage, depending on the program of each given evening. Thus, the controllability of the individual blocks of the stage tablet allows for a variable arrangement of orchestra groups or the formation of an orchestra pit.
The hall is also used for stage performances of opera works, and for ballet productions. The hall is the venue of the festival "Stars of White Nights", as well as such theater festivals as "New Horizons", "Maslenitsa" and "Brass Evenings at the Mariinsky".
In the Concert Hall there is an organ made by the French company "Alfred Kern and son" (Strasbourg). Organ music concerts are held.
The Concert Hall's foyer functions as an exhibition space with an artistic display that allows concert-goers to complement their musical experiences with scenic ones.
In the complex of buildings adjacent to the Concert Hall, there are: a restaurant, a cafe, a music store and rehearsal rooms.
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Thus, the historic building of the Mariinsky Theater, the Mariinsky-2 and the Concert Hall are unique, modern and at the same time historical theater and concert complex of St. Petersburg and one of the largest cultural institutions in the world.
Practical information
Tickets to the Mariinsky Theater can be purchased both at the ticket offices located in the buildings of the theater complex, and online on the official website and from officially authorized organizations, a list of which is posted on the theater's website.
You can get acquainted with the playbill of the theater's repertoire, find out the cost of tickets, buy tickets, etc., on the official website of the Mariinsky Theater: mariinsky.
Coordinates of the Mariinsky Theatre: 59°55'32.0"N 30°17'46.0"E (59.925556, 30.296111).
Nearest metro stations: "Sennaya Ploshchad", "Sadovaya" and "Spasskaya".
All accommodation facilities in St. Petersburg, including in the city center, near the Mariinsky Theater and more remote from those, can be viewed and booked here
