The Mariinsky Theatre in Istanbul and Eilat

For Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, the first tour of the New Year begins on 3 January with an appearance at one of the most famous cultural centres in Istanbul – the İş Sanat. The concert programme includes the Introduction to Richard Wagner’s opera Lohengrin, Hector Berlioz’  Symphonie fantastique and Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto featuring soloist Daniil Trifonov, a prize-winner at the XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition.

Maestro Gergiev, the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra and Opera Company and soloists will then set off for the Israeli resort of Eilat to take part in the XI International Red Sea Festival which runs for three days from 5 to 7 January.

The festival was founded by Valery Gergiev as an international music project, the aim of which is to promote the peaceful resolution of conflict in the Middle East. It was not by chance that Eilat was chosen to host the event as it is located in a unique geopolitical region on the border of four states – Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Despite the “frontline conditions” Gergiev “decided to risk starting a new festival in a place where there had never been any festival traditions similar to those in Europe before,” and he transformed Eilat into a true festival city to which lovers of classical music from all over the world come every year. As Rossiiskaya Gazeta commented, “The delighted tone of the Eilat audiences at the festival is entirely normal, as people come here specially for ‘the maestro and the Mariinsky.’ And each winter the most everyday-looking port hangar on the coastline, exposed to the winds and guarded by submachine gunners, is fitted out as a concert hall” with two thousand four hundred seats. According to renowned Israeli conductor Dalia Atlas, Gergiev’s project has become “a moment of peace for all.”

This year the Mariinsky Theatre will be appearing on three occasions at the Festival. 5 January will see a performance of Hector Berlioz’ Requiem, on 6 January there will be a performance of Sergei Prokofiev’s opera The Fiery Angel and the tour concludes on 7 January with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

For details please visit the festival’s website: http://www.redsea-classic.co.il/en/