Mariinsky Theatre
Historic opera and ballet house on Theatre Square, home of the Mariinsky company since 1860.
The Mariinsky opened on Theatre Square in 1860 in a building by Alberto Cavos, and was named after Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Victor Schroter reworked the exterior and added the main entrance foyer between 1883 and 1896, giving the pale green and white facade seen today. The auditorium, in blue and gold with a painted ceiling and imperial box, seats around 1,600. Between 1935 and 1992 the theatre carried the name of Sergei Kirov, under which its ballet company toured widely abroad.
The house has premiered a large share of the Russian repertoire, including Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty, and Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet in its Soviet staging. The company now works across several venues: the historic theatre, the Concert Hall on Pisareva Street opened in 2006, the Mariinsky II opera house of 2013 across the Kryukov Canal, and smaller chamber halls. It also runs branch stages in Vladivostok and Vladikavkaz.
Highlights
- Blue-and-gold horseshoe auditorium with the imperial box
- Premiere house of The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty
- Mariinsky II across the Kryukov Canal, opened in 2013
- Opera, ballet and concert programmes on most nights of the week
