Valery Gergiev reveals the programme for the opening of the new stage of the Mariinsky Theatre

The Mariinsky II. The auditorium

The grand opening of the new theatre on 2 May will see performances by stars of musical theatre, among them singers Ildar Abdrazakov, Olga Borodina, Plácido Domingo, Ekaterina Gubanova, Anna Netrebko, Alexei Markov, Yevgeny Nikitin, René Pape, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Mikhail Petrenko and Sergei Semishkur, musicians Yuri Bashmet, Denis Matsuev and Leonidas Kavakos and dancers Yekaterina Kondaurova, Ulyana Lopatkina, Diana Vishneva and Vladimir Shklyarov. The concert will be conducted by Valery Gergiev. The concert will also feature performances by young artists – the Mariinsky Children’s Chorus and students of the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet.

“Major projects cannot be a success without children,” Valery Gergiev asserted, “That is why in early May we will be showcasing those talents of which St Petersburg will very soon be proud.”

On 1 May, the eve of the official opening, the stars’ gala concert will also be performed for the theatre’s older members of staff, veterans of World War II, labour veterans and representatives of the city’s creative and research intelligentsia. “We want to pay our respects to them all,” noted maestro Gergiev.

The inauguration of the new building continues on 3 May; at 14:00 Anna Netrebko will be singing the title role in Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s opera Iolanta (production by Mariusz Treliński), while at 19:00 there will be a performance of George Balanchine’s ballet Jewels starring Ulyana Lopatkina, Yekaterina Kondaurova, Danila Korsuntsev and Vladimir Shklyarov. On 4 May at 12:00 there will be a Diana Vishneva gala, followed by Dmitry Bertman’s production of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Nabucco at 19:00. The lead roles will be performed by Maria Guleghina and Plácido Domingo. The opera will be conducted by Valery Gergiev.

The Moscow Easter Festival will run from 5 to 16 May. Its central theme will be the commemoration of seventy years since the Battle of Kursk. The programme, however, also reflects key dates in music history, including the anniversaries of Wagner, Verdi, Dargomyzhsky and Rachmaninoff.

On Victory Day at Poklonnaya Hill there will be a traditional concert featuring the Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra.