• Great drama: Boris Godunov 16 May
• Mahler Symphonies conducted by Nikolaj Znaider 17 & 18 May
• Ballet masterpiece: Ondine 13 & 18 May
• Choral concerts a cappella 10 & 19 May
• Festival Stars of the White Nights 23 May ... 24 July

On 16 May, at the Mariinsky Theatre, we are presenting Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov, a masterpiece of Russian classical opera, musical work that tells about important historical events of the Russian state representing them through the interaction of the real characters in the opera. Production by Andrei Tarkovsky is the only work done by the great film director in the genre of opera. The tragedy of the people and the tragedy of the Tsar co-exist in Tarkovsky’s Boris Godunov extremely dense.The world of ideas and images presented by the director on the stage offers one of the strongest readings of this great drama, and a “star” cast of the artists under the baton of Valery Gergiev makes this performance one of the rare and highly anticipated events in the St Petersburg operatic life.

Two symphonies of Gustav Mahler: the Fifth and the First will be performed in two consecutive evenings of 17 and 18 May. They represent important milestones in the career of one of the greatest symphonists of the 20th century: the autobiographical First Symphony tells about the fate of the hero who commits the first steps in the real world, and the Fifth Symphony, reflecting a transitional stage in the works of Mahler, tells of a painful emotion of man in his desire to achieve inner harmony. Mahler’s creativity is multifaceted, and none of the reviews can substitute for the experience of attending concerts of his music. Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra has confidently grasped and developed the style over numerous performances of Mahler’s works in the past few seasons. This time the Orchestra will be directed by Nikolai Znaider, one of the most versatile performers of his generation, who combines creative talents of soloist, conductor and chamber musician.

Ballet Ondine is back at the Mariinsky Theatre by a pair of revivals of 13 and 18 May. Once-lost piece of the classical ballet legacy was reconstructed by a French choreographer Pierre Lacotte for the troupe of our theater in 2006. The choreographer took the script of the original 1843 London performance as a basis and supplemented it with St Petersburg version finale (the ballet was staged in St Petersburg in 1851 under the title Naiad and the Fisherman). Magnificent ballet, written for the famous production of Jules Perrot, transmits the spirit of a sensual story: the main character falls in love with a simple fisherman, and striving to the world of human beings, sacrificed her own immortality for the love of a man. Bright performance in the exciting and elegant choreography gives a great chance to experience the romantic era of ever-beautiful ideals.

Mariinsky Theatre Chorus that takes an active part in the opera theater productions is equally professionally performs a wide repertoire of a cappella works (i.e. polyphonic choral singing without instrumental accompaniment). Our choir under the direction of the Principal Chorus Master Andrei Petrenko, both in St Petersburg and on numerous tours, regularly presents carefully programmed thematic concerts of choral works that are present in the repertoire of every professional chorus, and also performs unique, new or rare, complex compositions, which require highly-skilled choral forces. Russian choral music, which is an integral part of the spiritual culture of Russia, will be performed in concert on 10 May. Works by Georgy Sviridov for chorus a cappella are genuine examples of honesty, truth, pathetic sense of Patriotism, Faith and Love, expressed by means of the language of polyphonic singing. These works will be performed on 19 May in a unique program of the final subscription concert of A lively conversation with other people series.

Nine-week Stars of the White Nights Festival of music kicks-off on 23 May. This is the biggest annual festival of our theater, which takes place during the most wonderful time in St Petersburg: the period of bright “white” nights when the sun goes behind the skyline only for a short time. Over the years the festival has acquired an enormous scale, and, be it a usual playbill time, highly intense saturation of “star” performers, premiere events and special projects, during the Festival becomes somewhat expected and usual, representing a worthy finale of the theatrical season. During the nine weeks of the Festival, we will present all the premieres of this season, as well as the most popular performances of the repertoire of our theater. Absolutely all leading artists of the Mariinsky Ballet and the Mariinsky Opera will perform within the framework of the Festival. A significant number of Festival events will take place with direct participation of the artistic director of the Festival and our theater — the maestro Valery Gergiev. The Festival will present a series of interesting projects, each of which will sure find its audience of viewers and listeners. Below we list some of the most remarkable events. We are confident they will become important in the cultural life of Petersburg, and certainly of interest to you. Feel free to contact us — we’ll be happy to answer your questions and provide more information about events you are interested in.