On 1 December at 22.00 at the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre Denis Matsuev and the Mariinsky Orchestra under Valery Gergiev will bring the Year of Prokofiev to a close. That evening the TV channel RT will produce the theatre's first ever live broadcast of a concert in panorama format. The broadcast will be available on all RT channels on YouTube and via the RT360 App.
In 2016 the Mariinsky Theatre has been marking one hundred and twenty-five years since the birth of Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev. The composer's anniversary has been celebrated with theatre premieres and new projects, festivals, tours, children's and charitable events, releases on the Mariinsky label, special printed editions and exhibitions.
Tours by the Mariinsky Theatre and Valery Gergiev
Valery Gergiev has dedicated every 2016 tour project to the music of Prokofiev, covering over thirty-five cities in Russia from Sochi to Murmansk and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, as well as nineteen countries in Europe, the Asia-Pacific Region and North and South America from Chile and Cuba to the USA and Japan. Sergei Prokofiev's music has been performed by the Mariinsky Orchestra under Valery Gergiev in Italy, France, Belgium, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Finland, the USA, Chile, Mexico, Cuba, China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. The series of events saw the participation of soloists of the Mariinsky Opera, Ballet, Chorus and Stradivarius Ensemble as well as internationally renowned pianists Denis Matsuev, Daniil Trifonov, Sergei Babayan, Alexander Toradze, Alexei Volodin, Boris Berezovsky, Vadym Kholodenko, Sergei Redkin, George Li and Alexander Malofeev, violinists Leonidas Kavakos, Kristóf Baráti, Daniel Lozakovich and Patricia Kopatchinskaja and cellists Alexander Ramm, Jonathan Roseman and Ivan Karizna.
Culminatory events of the Year of Prokofiev include performances of the opera Betrothal in a Monastery staged by Vladislav Pazi as part of the I International Festival Mariinsky in Vladivostok, the opera War and Peace staged by Andrei Konchalovsky at the new Grand Theatre in Harbin (China), the ballet Romeo and Juliet featuring Diana Vishneva as part of the Mariinsky in Shanghai festival at the Grand Theatre of Shanghai (China), performances of the symphonic tale for children Peter and the Wolf with acclaimed actors as the Narrator in Russia's regions from Vladikavkaz to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk as well as in Chile, China, Japan, Great Britain, Italy, France, Luxembourg and Germany, Prokofiev piano marathons in New York, Munich Rotterdam and Paris and performances of every symphony by Prokofiev in London at the Cadogan Hall and in Munich as part of Valery Gergiev's new festival 360 Degrees.
One key event beyond the stage space of the Mariinsky Theatre was an appearance by Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra on Palace Square in St Petersburg on 17 June, where to the accompaniment of scenes from films directed by Sergei Eisenstein there was a performance of the cantata Alexander Nevsky and the oratorio Ivan the Terrible. The concert featured performers of the Mariinsky Opera Yekaterina Sergeyeva (mezzo-soprano), Yulia Matochkina (mezzo-soprano) and Mikhail Petrenko (bass). The role of the Narrator was performed by Alexei Petrenko, People's Artist of Russia.
Sergei Prokofiev's birthday
The culmination of the Year of Prokofiev came with events around the composer's birthday. On 23 April the Mariinsky Orchestra under Valery Gergiev appeared in Russia's two capitals: in the morning at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow and in the evening at the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg. On 23 April Sergei Prokofiev's music was performed at all Mariinsky Theatre stage venues: the Prokofiev Marathon of miano music at the Concert Hall, a music hour in the Stravinsky Foyer, a screening of Anna Matison's documentary film Prokofiev: On the Way at the Shchedrin Hall, the ballet Cinderella at the Mariinsky Theatre and broadcasts of films by Sergei Eisenstein, the music for which was composed by Prokofiev – Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible at the Mariinsky II. The series of celebratory concerts then continued at the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre. Between 23 and 25 April events at the Mariinsky Theatre saw the participation of the outstanding contemporary musicians Nobuyuki Tsujii (piano), Denis Matsuev (piano), Daniil Trifonov (piano), Sergei Babayan (piano), Sergei Redkin (piano), Kristóf Baráti (violin), Alexander Ramm (cello), Alexei Melnikov (piano), Andrei Korobeinikov (piano), Olga Borodina (mezzo-soprano), Yulia Matochkina (mezzo-soprano) and Mikhail Petrenko (bass).
Mariinsky Theatre premieres in St Petersburg and Vladivostok
Today the Mariinsky Theatre's repertoire includes almost all of the composer's operas, among them the opera The Giant, composed by Sergei Prokofiev when he was aged nine, and the unfinished Maddalena. Last season the ballet repertoire saw the addition of new works – the playbill was enhanced with the one-act ballets Russian Overture and Violin Concerto No. 2 by young choreographers Maxim Petrov and Anton Pimonov. The first ballet premiere of the current season will also mark the anniversary of Sergei Prokofiev's birth – on 6 December The Stone Flower by legendary choreographer Yuri Grigorovich will return to the historic stage of the Mariinsky Theatre.
The one hundred and twenty-fifth anniversary of Sergei Prokofiev's birth saw projects at the Primorsky Stage of the mariinsky Theatre. In February there came the Far East premiere of the opera The Love for Three Oranges staged by French director Alain Maratrat. The First International Festival Mariinsky in Vladivostok, which ran at the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre from 30 July to 10 August, opened with a premiere of the opera Betrothal in a Monastery and also marked one hundred and twenty-five years since the composer's birth. The children's playbill of the Primorsky Stage was adorned with the children's symphonic tale Peter and the Wolf performed by Konstantin Khabensky as the Narrator and the Mariinsky Orchestra under Valery Gergiev.
Prokofiev for children: The Giant and the symphonic tale Peter and the Wolf with guest stars!
The Mariinsky Theatre devotes particular attention to the development of children's programmes and developing young audiences. The Mariinsky for Children project saw the premiere last season at the Prokofiev Hall of the opera The Giant – the first opera by Sergei Prokofiev.
Since early 2016 the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre has hosted a special project initiated by Valery Gergiev – Sergei Prokofiev's symphonic tale Peter and the Wolf, in which the role of the Narrator has been performed by famous performers of stage and screen including Yevgeny Mironov, Konstantin Khabensky, Veniamin Smekhov, Mikhail Porechenkov, Mikhail Trukhin, Nikolai Tsiskaridze, Xenia Rappoport, Anton Shagin, Sergei Garmash and Sergei Bezrukov. Konstantin Khabensky has also appeared in Kemerovo and Vladivostok, while Valery Gergiev himself has appeared in Oryol, Vladikavkaz and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Peter and the Wolf has been performed to great acclaim abroad during tours by Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Theatre, featuring film and theatre stars of the country where theperformances have taken place. This series, much loved by young Mariinsky Theatre audiences, will conclude in December – the role of the Narrator will be performed by children chosen in line with the results of a special selection process.
The Mariinsky label
To mark the Sergei Prokofiev anniversary in 2016 the Mariinsky label produced two releases: the opera Semyon Kotko in DVD and Blu-ray formats and a new symphony album with recordings of the Fourth, Sixth and Seventh Symphonies as well as the Fourth and Fifth Piano Concerti performed by the Mariinsky Orchestra under Valery Gergiev with the soloists Alexei Volodin and Sergei Babayan. Previously the Mariinsky label has released the opera The Gambler and the ballets Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella on DVD, as well as the Fifth Symphony and Third Piano Concerto (soloist – Denis Matsuev) in SACD format.
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