This year, the 225th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Pushkin has become one of the cornerstone events of the theatre season at the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre. On the threshold of the anniversary, the Theatre Company will once again present a series of famous operas based on Pushkin’s plots, which will be crowned by performance of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s cult mystical opera The Queen of Spades staged by Yuri Temirkanov. The performance will be the top event of the 2023/24 season
This year, the 225th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Pushkin has become one of the cornerstone events of the theatre season at the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre. On the threshold of the anniversary, the Theatre Company will once again present a series of famous operas based on Pushkin’s plots, which will be crowned by performance of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s cult mystical opera The Queen of Spades staged by Yuri Temirkanov. The performance will be the top event of the 2023/24 season.
On May 18, 2024, the caravan of festive events will be launched by Ruslan and Lyudmila, a theatrical concert with sand animation to the music of another hero, whose anniversary is celebrated this year, Mikhail Glinka. This “playful creation” by Alexander Pushkin in the musical interpretation by the Primorsky Stage has adorned the repertoire of the Chamber Hall quite recently, but has already gained many fans of the new format.
On May 19, 2024, the fairytale theme will continue in the Great Hall, where Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s merry opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan will be performed. Written to Pushkin’s plot, it was timed to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the poet’s birth. The audiences will enjoy an exuberant production where the signs of the Old Russian life are reliably recreated. It seems that the openwork lace of wooden architecture and bright national costumes have come straight from the illustrations to a book of folk tales.
On May 26, 2024, Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s lyrical opera Eugene Onegin, an unsurpassed musical embodiment of the great novel, will be performed. The heart of the opera is the sophisticated scene of Tatyana’s letter, imbibed with lyricism and emotionality. It was with that scene that the composer began his work on the opera, praising the poetry of the soul of Pushkin’s heroine. Along with this, Tchaikovsky’s music accurately conveys the atmosphere of noble life of those times. Then-popular waltz, mazurka and polonaise are widely represented by the composer, along with the Russian folklore motifs.
On May 29, 2024, the Primorsky Stage will unfold a large-scale costume historical drama about the Time of Troubles in Modest Musorgsky’s opera Boris Godunov. Its central theme is the tense relationship between Tsar and the ordinary people, who are presented as the main characters here. This musical drama sets a multifaceted picture of the era and amazes the viewer with its deep psychologism. The public will be able to learn more interesting facts about the opera from Scenic Introduction that is going to take place an hour before the beginning of the performance.
May 31, 2024 will be marked by special events, that are performances of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s one-act operas Aleko and The Miserly Knight. The composer has written only three operas, but two of them are inspired by Pushkin. Aleko, based on the plot of the poem The Gypsies, was written as a graduation work by 19-year-old Sergei Rachmaninoff, then a student at the Moscow Conservatory. For the composer, it became the first serious step along his creative path. Aleko’s aria “The Whole Camp is Asleep” has become a favorite piece in the bass repertoire and has a rich history of performances dating back to Feodor Chaliapin himself. The Miserly Knight is another chamber theatre masterpiece by Rachmaninoff. Its centerpiece is the old Baron’s monologue, where the composer masterfully reveals the character’s ambiguous personality. In his soul, nobility and greatness coexist with a manic passion for power and wealth, which ultimately chokes all human feelings. An hour before the beginning of the performance, Scenic Introduction for the audience will be taking place.
On June 2, 2024, the Theatre season will be crowned with another opera to Pushkin’s plot, The Queen of Spades by Pyotr Tchaikovsky in a luxurious production by Yuri Temirkanov. The re-created fence of the Summer Garden, a magnificent ball, camisoles, crinolines and wigs make the performance a classic paragon. The audiences will be able to take a look at the mystical St. Petersburg of the 19th century, where the events of the famous novel unfold.
The next meetings with audiences within the framework of Scenic Introduction project of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre are taking place on May 17, 22, 29 and 31, 2024
The next meetings with audiences within the framework of Scenic Introduction project of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre are taking place on May 17, 22, 29 and 31, 2024.
Scenic Introduction is an educational project of the Primorsky Stage, intended to help the audiences gain a better perception of the theatrical performances and concerts. In an easy interactive format, the theatre goers will receive an idea of how composers and performers work; the most important components of the future performance will be highlighted. The project was first launched in 2018. Today, the captivating conversations with musicologists are returning to the Primorsky Stage after a long break.
The encounters will be taking place in the 5th floor lobby an hour before the beginning of performances. You can learn more about the schedule of Scenic Introduction from the website and social networks of the Primorsky Stage.
Four meetings of this format are scheduled within the framework of the project before the end of the theatre season. On May 17, 2024, Scenic Introduction will take place before the performance of Ruggero Leoncavallo’s colorful and emotional opera Pagliacci; on May 22, 2024, before the premiere performance of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s opera Iolanta; on May 29, 2024, before the beginning of Modest Musorgsky’s monumental historical opera Boris Godunov; and on May 31, 2024, it will precede the performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s famous operas Aleko and The Miserly Knight.
The small lectures will touch upon the background of the operas; the peculiarities of their musical language, dramaturgy, and stage implementation will also be discussed.
Everyone who comes to enjoy the performance can attend Scenic Introduction free of charge.
The Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre presents its festive playbill dedicated to the Great Victory Day
The Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre presents its festive playbill dedicated to the Great Victory Day.
On May 7 and 8, 2024 at 18:00, on the stage of the Chamber Hall, the Theatre’s opera soloists performed famous songs of the war years, which have become an integral part of the country’s cultural heritage. Marching, lyrical, combat, and heroic songs by Veniamin Basner, Bulat Okudzhava, Anatoly Novikov and other authors were performed. The program was presented by Samira Galimova, Anastasia Kikot, Irina Kolodyazhnaya, Ilya Astafurov, Roman Krukovich, Gennady Akhmedov, Dmitry Nelasov, Nikita Odalin and Sergei Pleshivtsev.
On May 9, 2024 at 18:00, the Great Hall is going to host a grand gala concert “The Lord is My Hope!”, which will embrace several events at once: the celebration of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, the feast of Holy Easter and the opening of the I Far East Easter Festival. The concert will be held with the participation of the Mariinsky Orchestra of the Primorsky Stage, the Chorus and soloists of the Opera Company of the Primorsky Stage, as well as the Combined Chorus of the Vladivostok Eparchy and the Russian Pacific Fleet Orchestra. The symphonic poem Wait for Me to the lyrics by Konstantin Simonov, the finale from the opera Iolanta by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, the “Glory” chorus from the opera Ivan Susanin by Mikhail Glinka, “Let us Bow to Those Great Years” by Aleksandra Pakhmutova and other iconic works that adorn the history of the Russian musical culture will be performed.
On May 12, 2024 at 18:00, the Chorus of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre will perform All-Night Vigil by Sergei Rachmaninoff in the Transfiguration Cathedral in Vladivostok. Created during World War I, the work conveys the composer’s genuine emotional concern for the fate of the Motherland. The Chorus will perform this mighty spiritual masterpiece under the direction of the Theatre’s Principal Chorus Master Larisa Shveikovskaya. The event will be open to the general public.
The May holiday playbill of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre is traditionally full of events. From April 29 to May 12, 2024, the audiences will be treated to a series of special performances, including the opening of the I Far East Easter Festival, the opera premiere of the season, and vibrant productions for the whole family
The May holiday playbill of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre is traditionally full of events. From April 29 to May 12, 2024, the audiences will be treated to a series of special performances, including the opening of the I Far East Easter Festival, the opera premiere of the season, and vibrant productions for the whole family.
On April 29, 2024, the festive weekend playbill will open with Alexander Glazunov’s ballet Raymonda, a sophisticated legend about a beautiful girl who is ready to wait for her knight and to defend love even in her sleep. On April 30, 2024, at 14:00 and 19:00, an airy operetta, full of piquant humor, by Johann Strauss II, Die Fledermaus, will be performed. On May 1, 2024, the audiences will be treated to charming characters and vigorous dances in Ludwig Minkus’s ballet Don Quixote. The high-profile premiere of the season, Sergei Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges (May 3, 2024) deserves special attention from the public.
On May 3, 2024, the concert playbill of the Chamber Hall will be supplemented by the Evening of ancient music. The program includes works by George Frideric Handel, Antonio Vivaldi, George Philipp Telemann, and Johann Sebastian Bach. To commemorate the 79th anniversary of Victory Day, on May 7 and 8, 2024, the Primorsky Stage invites audiences to concerts of war songs. In the Chamber Hall of the Theatre, opera soloists will perform well-known and beloved songs by Aleksandra Pakhmutova, Isaak Dunayevsky, Matvey Blanter, Veniamin Basner and other composers.
The I Far East Easter Festival will take a large-scale start on May 9, 2024 in the Great Hall of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre, with gala concert “The Lord is My Hope”. This festive concert to commemorate the feast of Holy Easter and the Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War will be featuring the Mariinsky Orchestra, the Chorus and soloists of the Opera Company of the Primorsky Stage, the Combined Chorus of the Vladivostok Eparchy and the Russian Pacific Fleet Orchestra.
The weekend playbill will be continued with Fikret Amirov’s oriental ballet A Thousand and One Nights (May 4, 2024 at 14:00 and 19:00); the touching Die Zauberflöte (May 5, 2024) and comical Le nozze di Figaro (May 11, 2024) operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; the exciting ballet Le Corsaire by Adolphe Adam (May 8, 2024) and Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s enchanting ballet-féerie The Nutcracker (May 10, 2024 at 14:00 and 19:00).
The Chamber Hall of the Theatre will host opera performances for young audiences: Town Musicians of Bremen by Gennady Gladkov (April 29, 2024 at 12:00 and 14:00), The Turnip by Rustam Sagdiev (May 4, 2024 at 12:00 and 14:00), The Little Prince by Leonid Klinichev (May 10, 2024), and Murych the Cat by Sergei Banevich (May 12, 2024).
The Ballet Company of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre is preparing to finalize its tour-rich and busy season with a series of brilliant performances on its home stage. On May 1, 2024, Ludwig Minkus’ colorful and festive ballet Don Quixote will open the playbill to the rhythmic sound of castanets and fluttering fans. On May 4, 2024 (at 14:00 and 19:00) and May 25, 2024 (at 14:00 and 19:00) the ballet connoisseurs will enjoy the fascinating and vivid ballet A Thousand and One Nights by Fikret Amirov. Let us remind you that earlier this season, this enchanting ballet was performed at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, and in the capital of Qatar, Doha. On May 10, 2024 (at 14:00 and 19:00), the sense of wonder will build up with the performances of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker, and Adolphe Adam’s adventure ballet Le Corsaire (May 8 and 12, 2024)
The Ballet Company of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre is preparing to finalize its tour-rich and busy season with a series of brilliant performances on its home stage. On May 1, 2024, Ludwig Minkus’ colorful and festive ballet Don Quixote will open the playbill to the rhythmic sound of castanets and fluttering fans. On May 4, 2024 (at 14:00 and 19:00) and May 25, 2024 (at 14:00 and 19:00) the ballet connoisseurs will enjoy the fascinating and vivid ballet A Thousand and One Nights by Fikret Amirov. Let us remind you that earlier this season, this enchanting ballet was performed at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, and in the capital of Qatar, Doha. On May 10, 2024 (at 14:00 and 19:00), the sense of wonder will build up with the performances of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker, and Adolphe Adam’s adventure ballet Le Corsaire (May 8 and 12, 2024).
Until the end of the season, the ballet playbill will also feature Swan Lake by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (May 16 and 18, 2024), Raymonda by Alexander Glazunov (May 23, 2024), The Firebird by Igor Stravinsky and Carmen Suite by Bizet and Shchedrin (May 30, 2024). Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s ballet-féerie The Sleeping Beauty (June 1, 2024) will come as a beautiful and solemn ending of the ballet season.
On May 9, 2024, the Great Victory Day, a festive concert “The Lord is My Hope” will take place, which will mark the opening of the I Far East Easter Festival. The Mariinsky Orchestra, Chorus and soloists of the Opera Company of the Primorsky Stage, the Combined Chorus of the Vladivostok Eparchy and the Russian Pacific Fleet Orchestra will participate in the gala concert. In total, from May 9 to 14, 2024, the Festival will embrace the four largest cities of the Far Eastern Federal District: Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Before the festive day, on May 7 and 8, 2024, opera soloists will perform famous war songs in the Chamber Hall of the Theatre.
On May 3, 2024, the concert playbill of the Chamber Hall will be supplemented by the Evening of ancient music. The program includes works by George Frideric Handel, Antonio Vivaldi, George Philipp Telemann, and Johann Sebastian Bach. On May 24, 2024, a concert dedicated to the Day of Slavonic Literature will take place in the Great Hall with the participation of children’s and adult choruses of the city, accompanied by the Mariinsky Orchestra of the Primorsky Stage.
Equally generous gifts are in store for the opera connoisseurs in May. Among them, there will be high-profile opera premieres of the season. On May 3, 2024, the audiences will enjoy Sergei Prokofiev’s opera The Love for Three Oranges, a comical and vivid love story with adventures and magical transformations, staged by Director Alexander Petrov and Set and Costume Designer Vyacheslav Okunev. On May 22, 2024, Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s lyrical opera Iolanta will be performed. The composer’s last work is filled with joy and hope; Stage Director Anna Shishkina and Set and Costume Designer Pyotr Okunev have put it in the form of a philosophical fairy tale with a happy ending.
The May playbill will also be adorned by the delightful Die Zauberflöte (May 5, 2024) and Le nozze di Figaro (May 11, 2024) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; and by the dramatic Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo (May 17, 2024). The Chamber Hall of the Theatre will host opera performances for the whole family: The Turnip by Rustam Sagdiev (May 4, 2024 at 12:00 and 14:00), The Little Prince by Leonid Klinichev (May 10, 2024, June 1, 2024), Murych the Cat by Sergei Banevich (May 12 and 25, 2024), and Town Musicians of Bremen by Gennady Gladkov (May 30, 2024 at 12:00 and 14:00).
The season will be summed up with the culmination of the large-scale cycle “Pushkin – 225”, dedicated to the anniversary of the great poet. The famous operas will be presented, based on Pushkin’s plots: The Tale of Tsar Saltan by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (May 19, 2024), Eugene Onegin by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (May 26, 2024), and the historical drama Boris Godunov by Modest Musorgsky (May 29, 2024). Pushkin’s star will also shine over performances of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s one-act operas Aleko and The Miserly Knight (May 31, 2024). The audiences will also have the chance to enjoy the theatrical concert Ruslan and Lyudmila in the Chamber Hall of the Theater, accompanied by sand animation (May 18, 2024). The performance that closes the theatre season will also be Pushkin’s opera The Queen of Spades by Pyotr Tchaikovsky in a luxurious costume staging by Yuri Temirkanov (June 2, 2024).
I Far East Easter Festival will be held from May 9 to 14, 2024 and will become part of the large-scale Moscow Easter Festival, led by Valery Gergiev. The Festival program will include performances in Primorsky, Khabarovsk and Sakhalin Regions
I Far East Easter Festival will be held from May 9 to 14, 2024 and will become part of the large-scale Moscow Easter Festival, led by Valery Gergiev. The Festival program will include performances in Primorsky, Khabarovsk and Sakhalin Regions.
The Far East Easter Festival will start on May 9, 2024 in the Great Hall of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre in Vladivostok. A large-scale concert to commemorate the feast of Holy Easter and the Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War will be featuring the Mariinsky Orchestra of the Primorsky Stage, the Chorus and soloists of the Opera Company of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre, the Combined Chorus of the Vladivostok Eparchy and the Russian Pacific Fleet Orchestra.
The performances will continue in Khabarovsk, where the Company of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre will perform twice.
On May 10, 2024, the recent premiere of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre, Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta, will be performed on the stage of the Khabarovsk Regional Musical Theatre.
“Iolanta is among the ten most famous Russian operas in the world; it is an absolutely amazing work! The pinnacle of the composer’s skill, the opera was written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky a year before his death and became the brilliant result of all his operatic creativity. An interesting (and perhaps not generally known) fact is that the composer began to create Iolanta from the end, that is, from the last scene, which is the brightest and most solemn, and which praises light, wisdom, love, faith and devotion. So strongly was Tchaikovsky impressed by the play Kong Renés Datter (King René's Daughter) by the Danish poet Henrik Hertz, staged at the Moscow Maly Theatre. Indeed, until the moment when the composer became acquainted with the play, his operas had been mainly dramatic in their content, without a breakthrough to the light in the final chords. Iolanta was quite different. It is all permeated with joy and hope, and therefore this music is so graceful, such a great pleasure to listen to”, comments Irina Soboleva, Artistic Director of the Opera Company of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre.
The opera will be performed in full stage design and costumes. The performance will feature soloists of the Opera Company, the Chorus and the Mariinsky Orchestra of the Primorsky Stage. The Principal Conductor Pavel Smelkov will take the baton.
Then the Company will go to Komsomolsk-on-Amur, to present two concert programs on the stage of the Drama Theatre on May 11, 2024. The afternoon performance will feature Le quattro stagioni, the cycle of violin concerti by Antonio Vivaldi and Stabat Mater cantata by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi. In the evening, the Mariinsky Orchestra of the Primorsky Stage and opera soloists will give a large Gala Concert.
On May 12, 2024, a large Gala Concert featuring the Mariinsky Orchestra of the Primorsky Stage and opera soloists is going to take place on the stage of the Khabarovsk House of Officers of the Eastern Military District. The program includes works by Mozart, Donizetti, Rossini, Schubert, Gounod, Verdi, Alyabyev, Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninoff, Sviridov, Smelkov, Hermann, and Neapolitan songs.
The Chorus of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre will perform All-Night Vigil by Sergei Rachmaninoff on May 12, 2024 at 19:00 in the Transfiguration Cathedral in Vladivostok. The event will be open to the general public.
The Far East Easter Festival will end on May 14, 2024 in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Daytime and evening concerts will take place on the stage of the Chekhov International Theatre Centre. The program will include Le quattro stagioni cycle by Vivaldi, Stabat Mater cantata by Pergolesi, as well as overtures, arias and romances created by outstanding Russian and foreign composers.
In April, the Chamber Hall of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre is going to present masterpieces and rare chamber music gems. In addition to its own concerts, the Theatre will treat its audience to a series of outstanding performances by guest artists
In April, the Chamber Hall of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre is going to present masterpieces and rare chamber music gems. In addition to its own concerts, the Theatre will treat its audience to a series of outstanding performances by guest artists.
On April 6, 2024, Borodin Quartet will perform in the Chamber Hall. Borodin Quartet is a unique ensemble that has been continuing its artistic efforts for more than 75 years and has earned a reputation as one of the top musical quartets of the world. The Quartet’s biography includes about 7,000 concerts in Russia, countries of Europe, Asia, America, Australia and New Zealand. To Vladivostok audiences, the musicians are going to present Ludwig van Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 7 and Alexander Borodin’s String Quartet No. 2.
On April 7, 2024, the musical fairy tale Ruslan and Lyudmila will be performed. The Theatre’s company will present their interpretation of Mikhail Glinka’s fantasy opera, where heroic deeds, exciting adventures and true love will be embodied in mesmerizing sand illustrations. The author of literary composition and musical edition is the Principal Conductor of the Primorsky Stage Pavel Smelkov.
On April 13, 2024, talented students of the branch of the Central Music School, the Primorsky Academy of Performing Arts, will perform together with the Mariinsky Orchestra of the Primorsky Stage. The concert program will embrace famous masterpieces by Russian and foreign composers: Antonio Vivaldi, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Joseph Haydn, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Franz Strauss.
On April 20, 2024, the Chamber Hall will hold the Chamber music evening with the participation of the famous violinist from St Petersburg, People’s Artist of Russia Lev Klychkov. At the age of 22, the musician was invited to join the first violin group of the honored Russian ensemble, the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, and since 1998 he has been the First Violin of the Orchestra. The violinist’s current repertoire is quite extensive; it includes musical pieces by Bach and Stravinsky along with the works by contemporary composers. Masterpieces from different countries and of different styles will be performed at the chamber music concert in Vladivostok. There will be vibrant national genre sketches, virtuoso pieces and samples of the classical chamber repertoire.
On April 27, 2024, the series of April events at the Chamber Hall will be ended with the Evening of French chamber music, sophisticated and refined like France itself. The beautiful songs and instrumental sonatas by Francis Poulenc and the music by César Franck performed by the soloist of the opera company Anastasia Kikot and soloists of the Chamber Orchestra of the Primorsky Stage will give a romantic and lucid spring mood to the audience.
During the whole month, the audience will also be able to enjoy operas for the whole family: The Turnip by Rustam Sagdiev (April 7, 2024), The Little Prince by Leonid Klinichev (April 13, 2024), Murych the Cat by Sergei Banevich (April 20, 2024), and Town Musicians of Bremen by Gennady Gladkov (April 29, 2024).
The rising opera star Zinaida Tsarenko, winner of the two highest awards at the XVII International Tchaikovsky Competition, is going to take part in two performances of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre in April
The rising opera star Zinaida Tsarenko, winner of the two highest awards at the XVII International Tchaikovsky Competition, is going to take part in two performances of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre in April.
The singer will perform one of the leading female parts in Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera The Tsar’s Bride on April 10, 2024. Also, she will give a stage embodiment to one of the main characters, Princess Eboli, in Giuseppe Verdi’s Don Carlo on April 14, 2024.
Zinaida Tsarenko is a native of Khabarovsk; she spent her youth in the settlement of Terney, Primorsky Region. In 2022, she took part in a Mariinsky Theatre opera performance for the first time, having flawlessly performed the part of Olga in Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin (chamber version). That was also when she made her debut on the New Stage of the Theatre, singing the part of Lyubasha (The Tsar’s Bride). The most notable award the young singer has won at the moment is the Grand Prix of the XVII International Tchaikovsky Competition. After her triumphant victory, Zinaida Tsarenko took part in the tour of the Mariinsky Orchestra conducted by Valery Gergiev in Beijing, at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, in Tashkent, and in Vladivostok. The singer’s repertoire at the Mariinsky Theatre includes the parts of Fenena (Nabucco), Emilia (Verdi’s Otello), Joan of Arc (The Maid of Orleans).
In April, the singer will grace The Tsar’s Bride by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Don Carlo by Giuseppe Verdi. “Zinaida Tsarenko’s debut as the seductive Princess Eboli has become one of the undoubted successes of the St Petersburg production. The singer’s charismatic acting and confessional interpretation of the image, together with her rich voice timbre, have attracted the attention of the public”, says The Musical Klondike online publication about the singer’s first performance.
The main opera premiere of this spring, a production of Iolanta by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, will open the April playbill of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre. Inspired by a lyrical play about a blind princess, the composer filled his last opera with a whole polyphony of meanings. The Stage Director of the Mariinsky Theatre Anna Shishkina went further and placed not only Iolanta, but also her loving father at the center of the plot. The author of the sets, Chief Designer of the Primorsky Stage, Pyotr Okunev, developed original costumes based on the works by William Morris, which are completely different from those of the St.Petersburg production. Premiere performances of the opera will take place on April 5, 6 (at 14:00 and 19:00) and April 19, 2024
The main opera premiere of this spring, a production of Iolanta by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, will open the April playbill of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre. Inspired by a lyrical play about a blind princess, the composer filled his last opera with a whole polyphony of meanings. The Stage Director of the Mariinsky Theatre Anna Shishkina went further and placed not only Iolanta, but also her loving father at the center of the plot. The author of the sets, Chief Designer of the Primorsky Stage, Pyotr Okunev, developed original costumes based on the works by William Morris, which are completely different from those of the St Petersburg production. Premiere performances of the opera will take place on April 5, 6 (at 14:00 and 19:00) and April 19, 2024.
The two performances of the guest soloist of the Mariinsky Theatre Zinaida Tsarenko (mezzo-soprano) will become notable events on the playbill. A bright singer, a native of Khabarovsk and Grand Prix winner at the XVII International Tchaikovsky Competition will perform one of the main female parts in Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera The Tsar’s Bride on April 10, 2024, and will also give a stage embodiment to one of the main characters, Princess Eboli, in Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Don Carlo on April 14, 2024.
The opera repertoire of the Primorsky Stage in April also includes The Love for Three Oranges by Sergei Prokofiev (April 12, 2024), La traviata by Giuseppe Verdi (April 26, 2024), The Snow Maiden by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (April 28, 2024) and Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss II (April 30, 2024 at 14:00 and 19:00).
On April 21, 2024, a large concert dedicated to the 180th anniversary of the birth of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov will take place. The concert will encompass the composer’s works of different form and mood. The guest soloist of the evening is Honored Artist of Russia, first violin of the legendary St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra Lev Klychkov. The day before, on April 20, 2024, the violinist will also present Chamber music evening in the Chamber Hall of the Theatre.
The chamber playbill is going to amaze the audience with the variety of concert programs throughout the month. On April 6, 2024, Borodin Quartet, a world-famous string ensemble that has existed for more than 75 years, will perform in the Chamber Hall. On April 7, 2024, the musical fairy tale Ruslan and Lyudmila will be performed there. The music by Mikhail Glinka will be complemented by live scenery in the form of sand animation. On April 13, 2024, talented students of the branch of the Central Music School, the Primorsky Academy of Performing Arts, will perform classical music masterpieces accompanied by the Mariinsky Orchestra of the Primorsky Stage. The series of events in the Chamber Hall will be ended with the sophisticated Evening of French chamber music on April 27, 2024.
Following a triumphant tour in the capital of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Pyongyang, the Ballet Company of the Theatre will present the best performances of the classical heritage and its own striking productions on its home stage. Fikret Amirov’s spectacular ballet A Thousand and One Nights will make its comeback to the playbill after a long break on April 13, 2024 (at 15:00 and 19:00). This ballet was last performed in Vladivostok last May. The ballet repertoire will also be graced by Le Corsaire (April 7, 2024) and Giselle (April 20, 2024) by Adolphe Adam, Swan Lake (April 11, 2024) by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Don Quixote (April 17 and 18, 2024) and La Bayadère (April 25, 2024) by Ludwig Minkus, Konyok-Gorbunok (The Little Humpbacked Horse) by Rodion Shchedrin (April 27, 2024) and Raymonda by Alexander Glazunov (April 29, 2024).
The youngest audience will be able to enjoy nice and colorful performances about friendship, love and good deeds: The Turnip by Rustam Sagdiev (April 7, 2024), The Little Prince by Leonid Klinichev (April 13, 2024), Murych the Cat by Sergei Banevich (April 20, 2024), and Town Musicians of Bremen by Gennady Gladkov (April 29, 2024 at 12:00 and 14:00).
On April 5, 6 (at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.) and April 19, 2024, the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre will host the premiere of a new production of the opera Iolanta by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, directed by Anna Shishkina, with set and costume design by Pyotr Okunev
On April 5, 6 (at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.) and April 19, 2024, the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre will host the premiere of a new production of the opera Iolanta by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, directed by Anna Shishkina, with set and costume design by Pyotr Okunev.
“Iolanta is one of the top ten globally famous Russian operas, an absolutely amazing work! The pinnacle of the composer’s skill, this opera was written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky a year before his death and became the brilliant result of all his operatic creativity. An interesting (and perhaps not generally known) fact is that the composer started writing Iolanta from the end, that is, from the last scene, the one that is the brightest and the most solemn, the one praising light, wisdom, love, faith and devotion. Tchaikovsky composed it under a strong impression of the play Kong Renés Datter (King René’s Daughter) by the Danish poet Henrik Hertz, which he had seen at the Moscow Maly Theatre. Indeed, until the moment when Pyotr Ilyich saw the play, the composer’s operas had been mainly dramatic in their content, without a breakthrough to the light in the final chords. Iolanta is quite different. It is permeated with joy and hope, and that’s why this music is so graceful, such a great pleasure to listen to. And, unfortunately for us, but perhaps fortunately for some restless listeners, the opera is also one of the most “compact” (if such a word is applicable to opera) in the composer’s heritage”, comments Irina Soboleva, Artistic Director of the Opera Company of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre.
The Stage Director of the Mariinsky Theatre Anna Shishkina and the Chief Designer of the Primorsky Stage Pyotr Okunev based on the original concept of Henrik Hertz when they started working on the performance. The action is based on a poetic story about the blind princess who is healed by true love and receives her sight. However, the plot is centered not only on Iolanta, but also on her loving father.
“I have always felt that blindness is not her problem, but rather her father’s tragedy. After taking a closer look at the Hertz’s drama, I realized that it was important to bring King René’s pain to the fore. This is his tragedy, his blindness, his distrust of life. He wants to hide life itself in the dark world. I want the soloists who perform the part of King René not to hide behind his position, but to create a tragic image”, Anna Shishkina said about the concept of the performance.
The parts for the premiere performances are being rehearsed by: Anna Barkhatova, Alena Diyanova, Liliya Kadnikova, Alina Mikhailik as Iolanta; Alexei Kostyuk, Roman Krukovich, Mingiyan Odzhaev, Alexei Smirnov as Vaudémont; César Méndez, Dmitry Migulyov, Alexei Repin as Robert; Sergei Pleshivtsev, Yevgeny Plekhanov as King René; Sergey Krylov, Marat Mukhametzyanov, Dmitry Nelasov, Nikita Odalin as Ibn-Hakia. The Principal Conductor of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre, Pavel Smelkov, will take the baton of the Orchestra on the premiere days.
