The Mariinsky Theatre is currently on a captivating tour of the Middle East, running from 18 to 27 January. Opera soloists, the Chorus, and the Orchestra, led by the renowned Valery Gergiev, will grace the stages of the Royal Opera House Muscat in Oman and the National Theatre of Bahrain in Manama. Audiences can look forward to Verdi's opera Simon Boccanegra, alongside arias and symphonic excerpts from operas and ballets by some of the greatest Russian and European composers

Philipp Stepin was born in Leningrad into a ballet family. In 2005 he graduated with honours from the Vaganova Ballet Academy (class of Boris Bregvadze) and joined the Mariinsky Ballet. He was promoted to Soloist in 2009

On 19, 22 and 29 December the Mariinsky Theatre will present the first premiere of its 242^nd season – a new production of Richard Wagner’s enchanting opera Tristan und Isolde. Directors Konstantin Balakin and Alexei Stepanyuk, together with designer Elena Vershinina, will bring this ode to all-consuming love to life on the stage of the Concert Hall

On 10 and 11 December the Mariinsky Theatre will present two performances of Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades in Yuri Temirkanov’s legendary production on the Historic Stage. This marks the return of the production to the theatre after an absence of almost ten years, coinciding with the 86^th birthday of the eminent conductor and director

Due to popular demand, the Bolshoi Theatre will present additional performances of The Queen of Spades – a large-scale collaboration between Russia’s two leading opera houses