On 24 May as part of the XXVII Music Festival Stars of the White Nights, the Mariinsky II will be hosting a premiere of Giacomo Puccini's opera La fanciulla del West, staged for the first time at the Mariinsky Theatre

Dear Patrons, from 23 May the Mariinsky Theatre invites you to visit the open-air terrace of the Mariinsky II – one of St Petersburgs most beautiful observation platforms. The terrace opens one hour before and closes ten minutes before the start of performances. Tickets may be purchased from the usher at the entrance to the terrace one hour before performances commence. Tickets cost 100 roubles each. The number of visitors to the roof terrace is limited

On 8 June at 18.00 as part of the XXVII Stars of the White Nights Music Festival the historic Mariinsky Theatre will be hosting an extraordinary event – Aida conducted by Valery Gergiev and featuring Anna Netrebko in the title role, Ekaterina Semenchuk (Amneris), Yusif Eyvazov (Radamès), Yevgeny Nikitin (Ramfis) and Roman Burdenko (Amonasro)

Arnaud Bernard, Stage Director and Set Designer of La fanciulla del West, tells about the plan

On 16 May, Principal Dancer of the Mariinsky Ballet Xander Parish was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to dance and the development of cultural relations between Great Britain and Russia