Acoustic test at the Mariinsky II

On 16 April maestro Gergiev raised the curtain and gave over one hundred journalists a peek at the new building of the Mariinsky Theatre. Critics are as pleased with the design of the new auditorium as they are with its acoustics. Gergiev himself was so inspired by the sound that following the performance he eagerly took on the role of guide and led a brief excursion of the interiors of the Mariinsky II.

For the acoustic test there was a specially chosen programme that included various styles, genres and performing skills. The new auditorium played host to performances of a scene from the opera The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia (The Battle near Kerzhenets), arias of Lensky and Olga from Eugene Onegin (with Yevgeny Akimov and Ekaterina Semenchuk), Tuba mirum from Verdi’s Requiem, highlights from the opera Khovanshchina (The Strelets’ Nest is Sleeping Soundly and Father, Father, Hear Our Call) with the chorus and soloists (Yevgeny Nikitin, Gennady Bezzubenkov, Andrei Zorin and Vitaly Ishutin) and the Adagio and Finale from Mahler’s Fifth Symphony.

Following the acoustic test, Valery Gergiev shared his impressions: “On the whole I am very pleased, and that’s not just my opinion from the orchestra pit. I heard the sound coming back from the auditorium – here the acoustics are truly alive. I think that for a first acoustic test we have given a very full and honest impression of what this theatre will sound like.”

The maestro noted that the possibilities of the new theatre facilitate experimentation with sound, revealing new shades and hues. Thanks to modern technology, the capacity of the orchestra pit can be easily altered and the musicians placed at different heights within it.

In addition to the staggering acoustics, the maestro drew journalists’ attention to the comfort of the auditorium. Guests present at the acoustic test could see for themselves the comfortable seats with broad backs, positioned so that no-one in the audience disturbs those sitting next to them. Thanks to a computer programme that was used to define the position of the seats, the new stage can be seen from any point in the audience, be it in the stalls or in “the gods”.

The second half of the press meeting was an excursion led by the maestro himself. Journalists saw the opera and ballet rehearsal rooms, a chamber music venue with one hundred and twenty seats and the first-level balcony foyer where there will be concert meetings targeted – first and foremost – at school pupils and students.