TheMariinsky Theatre(Russian:Мариинский театр,romanized:Mariinskiy teatr,also transcribed asMaryinskyorMariyinsky) is a historicopera houseinSaint Petersburg,Russia.Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces ofTchaikovsky,Mussorgsky,andRimsky-Korsakovreceived their premieres. Through most of the Soviet era, it was known as theKirov Theatre.Today, the Mariinsky Theatre is home to theMariinsky Ballet,Mariinsky Opera andMariinsky Orchestra.SinceYuri Temirkanov's retirement in 1988, the conductorValery Gergievhas served as the theatre's general director.
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 Mariinsky Theatre, August 2022 | |
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| Address | 1 Theatre Square Saint Petersburg Russia |
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| Coordinates | 59°55′32″N30°17′46″E/ 59.92556°N 30.29611°E |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 2 October 1860 |
| Years active | 1860–present |
| Architect | Alberto Cavos |
| Tenants | |
| Mariinsky Ballet Mariinsky Opera Mariinsky Orchestra | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Name
editThe theatre is named afterEmpress Maria Alexandrovna,wife ofTsar Alexander II.There is a bust of the Empress in the main entrance foyer. The theatre's name has changed throughout its history, reflecting the political climate of the time:
- 1860 – 1920: Imperial Mariinsky Theatre (Russian:Императорский Мариинский театр)
- 1920 – 1924: State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet (Russian:Государственный академический театр оперы и балета)
- 1924 – 1935: Leningrad State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet (Russian:Ленинградский государственный академический театр оперы и балета)
- 1935 – 1992: Kirov State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet (Russian:Государственный академический театр оперы и балета имени С. М. Кирова) (one of numerous places and institutions named or renamed at that time forSergei Kirov)
- 1992 – present: State Academic Mariinsky Theatre (Russian:Государственный aкадемический Мариинский театр)
Note: The acronym "GATOB" (Gosudarstvennïy Akademicheskiy Teatr Operï i Baleta) is often encountered in historical accounts.
The theatre building is commonly called theMariinsky Theatre.The companies that operate within it have for brand recognition purposes retained theKirovname, acquired during theSovietera to commemorate the assassinatedLeningradCommunist PartyleaderSergey Kirov(1886–1934).
Origins
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The Imperial drama, opera andballettroupe in Saint Petersburg was established in 1783,[1]at the behest ofCatherine the Great,although an Italian ballet troupe had performed at the Russian court since the early 18th century.
A permanent theatre building for the new company of opera and ballet artists was designed byAntonio Rinaldiand opened in 1783.[1]Known as theImperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre,the structure was situated on Carousel Square, which was renamed Theatre Square in honour of the building.[1]Both names – "Kamenny" (Russian word for "stone" ) and "Bolshoi" (Russian word for "big" ) – were coined to distinguish it from the wooden Little Theatre. In 1836, the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre was renovated to a design byAlbert Cavos(son ofCatterino Cavos,an opera composer), and served as the principal theatre of theImperial Balletand opera.[1]
On 29 January 1849, the Equestriancircus(Конный цирк) opened on Theatre Square. This was also the work of the architect Cavos. The building was designed to double as a theatre.[2]
Leading role
editThe Imperial Mariinsky Theatre and its predecessor, the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, hosted the premieres of many of the operas ofMikhail Glinka,Modest Mussorgsky,andPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.At the behest of the theatre directorIvan Vsevolozhsky,both theImperial Ballet(ballet arrived at the Mariinsky theater in 1870) and theImperial Operawere relocated to the Mariinsky Theatre in 1886, as the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre was considered unsafe.
Other world premieres given at the house includedMussorgsky's operaBoris Godunovin 1874,Tchaikovsky's operasThe Queen of Spadesin 1890 andIolantain 1892, the revised version ofProkofiev's balletRomeo and Julietin 1940, andKhachaturian's balletSpartacusin 1956. Other notable productions includedRimsky-Korsakov's operaThe Golden Cockerelin 1909 and Prokofiev's balletCinderellain 1946 (withNatalya Dudinskaya).[3]
The imperial and Soviet theater was the home of numerous impresarios, conductors, and musicians.
Conductors:Mikhail Zhukov(1932–35), Israel Chudnovsky and others.
Ballet:Theballetschool of the Mariinsky Theatre spawned the careers of artistsMathilde Kschessinskaya,Olga Preobrajenskaya,Anna Pavlova,Tamara Karsavina,Vaslav Nijinsky,andGeorge Balanchine,students of theImperial Ballet Schooland style, and, under and after the teachings ofAgrippina Vaganova,artistsMarina Semyonova,Galina Ulanova,Rudolf Nureyev,Natalia Makarova,Mikhail Baryshnikov,Irina Kolpakova,Galina Mezentseva,Altynai Asylmuratova,as well as more recent dancers of renownUlyana Lopatkina,Diana Vishneva,andSvetlana Zakharova,students of the school as now named, theVaganova Academy of Russian Ballet.
The Mariinsky Theatre today
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UnderYuri Temirkanov,Principal Conductor from 1976 to 1988, the Opera Company continued to stage innovative productions of both modern and classic Russian operas.
In April 2022, resident conductor Gavriel Heine, a protégé of Gergiev, resigned from the theater in part because of the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[6]
Mariinsky Theatre Concert Hall
editThe nearby Mariinsky Theatre Concert Hall, designed by French architect, Xavier Fabre, opened in spring 2007.
Mariinsky Theatre Second Stage
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The Canadian firmDiamond and Schmitt Architects,along with its local partner KB ViPS Architects, designed a new building, then to be namedThe Second Stage,with 1,830 seats, which would complement the existing Mariinsky.[7]Construction began in 2003, following a different design by French architect Jean Nouvel that was halted at the sub-basement level. The new design team took over in 2009. The completion of Mariinsky II was predicted to result in Saint Petersburg's equivalent ofNew York City'sLincoln Center.
Construction was completed in May 2013, at a price of 500 million euros.[8][9]
The Mariinsky record label
editIn 2009, the Mariinsky Theatre launched its own record label, managed by the same team that run the LSO Live label in London.
Among the titles that have been released are:
Rachmaninov:Piano Concerto No 3 / Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini performed by Denis Matsuev, conducted by Valery GergievMariinsky Label Website
Shchedrin:The Enchanted Wandererconducted by Valery GergievMariinsky Label Website
Shostakovich:The Noseconducted by Valery GergievMariinsky Label Website
Shostakovich:Symphonies Nos 1 & 15 conducted by Valery GergievMariinsky Label Website
Stravinsky:Oedipus Rex/Les Nocesconducted by Valery GergievMariinsky Label Website
Tchaikovsky:1812,Moscow Cantata,Marche Slaveconducted by Valery GergievMariinsky Label Website
Premiers
editReferences
edit- Notes
- ^abcd"Mariinsky Theatre: History of the Theatre".Mariinsky Theatre. Archived fromthe originalon 3 December 2011.Retrieved4 December2011.
- ^"Istoricheskoe zdaniye Mariinskogo Teatra".Severo-Zaladnaya direktsiya. Archived fromthe originalon 4 February 2012.Retrieved4 December2011.
- ^Kisselgoff, Anna (1 February 2003)."Natalya Dudinskaya, 90, A Leading Kirov Ballerina".The New York Times.
- ^""Persian Echoes" to reverberate at St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Theater ".Tehran Times.14 August 2024.Retrieved22 November2024.
- ^"Reza Fekri".mariinsky.ru.Retrieved22 November2024.
- ^Hernández, Javier C. (18 April 2022)."Citing Ukraine War, an American Resigns From Russia's Mariinsky".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved19 April2022.
- ^"Mariinsky II".Mariinsky Theatre.Retrieved23 November2023.
- ^"Mariinsky ballet dances on new stage".Euronews.2 May 2013.Retrieved2 May2013.
- ^Mariinsky Theatre unveils new ballet and opera house, (3 May 2013), BBC Newsaccessed 3 May 2013
- ^Maxim Korchagin, Roman Yurchenko.2H COMPANY // Urban Trash: magazine. - Khabarovsk, 2008. - October 14 ( No. 3 ). - pp. 12-15
- Sources
- Allison, John (ed.),Great Opera Houses of the World,Supplement toOperaMagazine, London, 2003.
- Beauvert, Thierry.Opera Houses of the World,The Vendome Press, New York, 1995.ISBN0-86565-978-8.
- Krasovskaya V.M.Балет Ленинграда: Академический театр оперы и балета им. С.М. Кирова.Leningrad, 1961.
- Rudnev A.Yu. (19 October 2012)."Мариинский театр: четвертьвековые итоги".Retrieved11 October2016.
External links
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- Official website(in English)
- Mariinsky Performance and Tour Schedule
- Gallery of the Mariinsky Theatre
- Virtual Tour of the main hall of the Mariinsky Theatre
- Panorama of Theatre Square outside of the Mariinsky Theatre
- "Competition winner: Dominique Perrault – Opera House Mariinsky II".Archived fromthe originalon 30 April 2009.– His designnotbeing built
- The new Jack Diamond design that is being built
- Satellite image of the Theatre,centered on the main entrance
- From Toronto with love, a new theatre for St. Petersburg
- Photo: life in the Mariinsky Theatre
- ru: Мариинский театр: четвертьвековые итоги
- Mariinsky Two (in Russian)