Repertoire of the Mariinsky Theater of St. Petersburg

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg is one of the most famous and largest opera and ballet theaters in the world. The date of its foundation is October 5, 1783. Now Valery Gergiev is the chief conductor, artistic director and director.

History of the theater

The theater was founded in 1783 by order of Catherine the Great. Then it was called the Bolshoi Theatre. But in 1811 it was badly damaged in a fire. In 1818, the building was restored, and opera and ballet performances resumed again. In addition to the Russian troupe, groups from France and Italy performed here. Later, Russian artists showed their performances in a separate building, where the Circus Theater was previously located, but in 1859 it suffered a sad fate - it burned down, and a new one was built in its place, where all the performances were soon transferred completely. In honor of Maria Alexandrovna, the wife of Emperor Alexander II, it was named the Mariinsky Theater (St. Petersburg). His repertoire consists mainly of operas and ballets by Russian and foreign classical composers, but modern productions are also performed along with them.

Late 18th - early 19th century

The Mariinsky Theater is one of the oldest and largest Russian musical theaters. He played and continues to play a very important role in the development of Russian art in the field of opera and ballet. The repertoire of the Mariinsky Theater during this period was quite diverse, while the formation of the Russian school of composers was actively supported. Along with the famous foreign operas and ballets by K. M. Weber, A. Gretry, L. Cherubini, P. A. Monsigny, G. Paisiello and others, works by Russian composers of that time were staged: M. I. Glinka, E. I. Fomin, V. A. Pashkevich, S. I. Davydov and others. The opening of the new building was marked in 1836 by M. I. Glinka's production of A Life for the Tsar.

Late 19th - early 20th century

During this period, the theater underwent a reconstruction of facades, interiors, acoustics were improved, a new building was added. Profound changes took place in society, Russian opera flourished, there was a tendency to introduce productions by Russian composers into the repertoire. The repertoire of the Mariinsky Theater consisted of operas and ballets by M. I. Glinka (“Mermaid”, “Ruslan and Lyudmila”), A. N. Serov (“Judith” and “The Enemy Force”), N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov (“Mlada”, “May Night”), A. S. Dargomyzhsky (“The Stone Guest”), P. I. Tchaikovsky (“The Blacksmith Vakula”, “Iolanta”, “The Queen of Spades”), S. I. Taneyev (“Oresteia”), M. P. Mussorgsky (“Boris Godunov”). The repertoire also included Western European classics: G. Verdi (La Traviata, Rigoletto, Othello, Falstaff), W. A. Mozart, G. Puccini, K. M. Weber, R. Wagner ("RingNibelung"), R. Strauss ("Electra").

The October Revolution and the Great Patriotic War

After the October Revolution, the Mariinsky Theater was elevated to the status of a state theater, so many such performances appeared in the repertoire, which were staged at the request of soldiers and workers. Propaganda teams were created from artists who gave traveling performances at factories, plants, and military units. The repertoire of the Mariinsky Theater includes new productions by R. Wagner (Tannhäuser, Rienzi), R. Strauss (Der Rosenkavalier), A. Berg (Wozzeck). In the 1920s, operas of a revolutionary and Soviet orientation appeared, written by Soviet composers: A. F. Pashchenko ("Eagle Riot"), V. M. Deshevov ("Ice and Steel"), O. S. Chishko ("Battleship Potemkin"), T. Khrennikov ("Into the Storm"), S. S. Prokofiev ("Love for Three Oranges"). Since that time, the ballet repertoire has also expanded: F. I. Stravinsky (The Firebird, Pulcinella), A. K. Glazunov (The Four Seasons), K. A. Korchmaryov (The Serf Actress), R. M. Glier (The Red Poppy), B. V. Asafiev (Lost Illusions), A. A. Krein (Laurencia), S. S. Prokofiev (Romeo and Juliet).

During the war years, the Mariinsky Theater was evacuated to Perm, where premieres of such productions as the opera "Emelyan Pugachev" by M. V. Koval and the ballet "Gayane" by A. I. Khachaturian took place. Concert brigades were created from the artists, who went with concerts to the front line, to military units and hospitals, to collective farms, to factories. In 1944, the troupe returned to Leningrad, and the new theatrical season was opened with M. I. Glinka's opera "IvanSusanin.”

40-50s of the 20th century

The repertoire of the Mariinsky Theater in the post-war years consisted of classical and Soviet productions.

Operas:

• Queen of Spades;

• Dubrovsky;

• Aida;

• Carmen;

• Faust;

• Rigoletto;

• "Ruslan and Lyudmila";

• Mazeppa;

• Khovanshchina;

• Pskovityanka;

• Sadko;

• Duenna;

• Taras Family;

• "Decembrists";

• "Mother";

• "The fate of man".

And also ballets:

• "Cinderella" and "Stone Flower" by S. S. Prokofiev;

• The Bronze Horseman by F. Z. Yarullin;

• Spartak by A. Khachaturian;

• “The Path of Thunder” by K. Karaev;

• "Coast of Hope" by A. P. Petrov;

• Masquerade by L. A. Laputin.

Many performances were innovative, original and became the golden fund of the repertoire of the Mariinsky Theatre.

60-70s of the 20th century

In the second half of the last century, the repertoire at the Mariinsky Theater included the latest productions: V. I. Muradeli's "Lohengrin"; F. Erkel "Gunyadi Laszlo"; "Optimistic tragedy" by A. N. Kholminov; "Vasily Gubanov" by D. L. Klebanov, J. Bizet "Carmen"; "Peter I" by A. P. Petrov, "The Magic Flute" by W. A. Mozart, the ballet "Othello" by A. D. Machavariani; "Twelve" by B. I. Tishchenko, "Pearl" by N. S. Simonyan, "Man" by V. N. Salmanov, "Wonderland" by I. I. Schwartz, "Two" by A. D. Melikov, "Hamlet" N Chervinsky, "The Creation of the World" by A. P. Petrov, "Farplanet" Meisel.

Opera and ballet of the 21st century

Today, residents and guests of the northern capital are offered a rich and varied repertoire. The Mariinsky Theater (St. Petersburg) is a mix of classical and modern productions. The operatic repertoire consists of performances: "Aida", "Ariadne auf Naxos", "Atilla", "Boris Godunov", "Valkyrie", "The Magic Flute", "Don Carlos", "Eugene Onegin", "Woman Without a Shadow", " Enufa", "Player", "Iolanta", "Spanish Hour", "Flying Dutchman", "Madama Butterfly", "Mazeppa", "The Mystery of the Apostle Paul", "Fiery Look", "Othello", "Pagliacci", " Palleas and Melisende", "The Turn of the Screw", "Rigoletto", "Sadko", "Sister Angelica", "Macropolus Remedy", "La Traviata", "Electra". Ballet repertoire: Adagio Hammerklavier, Giselle, Jewels, The Little Humpbacked Horse, Variations for Two Couples, Swan Lake, Infra, Romeo and Juliet, The Nutcracker, Dizzy Precision Rapture", "Cinderella", "3X3 Choreographic Game", "Simple Things".

Mariinsky-2

In 2013, the second Mariinsky Theater was opened (new stage). The repertoire of the Mariinsky-2 includes operas and ballets by classical and contemporary composers, both Russian and foreign. The auditorium in the new building is designed for two thousand spectators, it has excellent acoustics and excellent visibility, and behind the scenes is a whole city, well equipped technically, with a large number of necessary premises, capable of accommodating a large theater staff,which has 2500 people. The new building, which has three platforms, will make it possible to realize even the most daring and daring projects. Now it is possible to broadcast performances throughout the country, even in the most distant corners from the central part of it. The new building of the Mariinsky Theater is one of the most equipped venues in the world.

Concert Hall

The repertoire of the Mariinsky Concert Hall includes operas, as well as various concerts dedicated to the work of various composers or consisting of songs from the war years, solo projects by opera performers and instrumental musicians, as well as choirs and orchestras.

Among other things, various contests and festivals are regularly held on its stages.