Mariinsky Venues

The main building of the Mariinsky Theater (Theater Square 1). The main stage of the theater can house 1,625 spectators.

The Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theater (the so-called third stage, 37 Dekabristov Street) was constructed under the initiative of the theater’s Artistic Director Valery Gergiev in 2006 and can house 1,000 spectators.

In long-term perspective, the second stage of the Mariinsky Theater is still being built. The construction is financed from the federal budget. This ambitious project has been suspended numerous times. The question of who will become the main architect of the new stage is still to be resolved.

History in brief

The Mariinsky Theater frequently referred to as the Kirov Ballet in the West was founded in 1783 by decree of Empress Catherine the Great, and was then named the Bolshoi Theater. It was a part of the Russia's Imperial Theaters.

The main building of the Mariinsky Theater was constructed by architect Albert Cavos as a theater-circus in 1847-1848 and then restored after a fire in 1860.

In 1860, the theater received its common name after the wife of Emperor Alexander II, Maria Alexandrovna.

In 1885, when the Bolshoi Theater was closed, the Mariinsky stage hosted most of the performances.

The Mariinsky Theater has repeatedly been reconstructed. It has become the center of Russia’s cultural life where musical arts have flourished.

After the Russian Revolution of1917, ballet went through a difficult time. The Mariinsky Theater lost all of its imperial backers, and many of the dancers left due to the hardships.

The Kirov Ballet

In 1935, the Bolsheviks renamed the Mariinsky after one of their leaders, Sergei Kirov. So the most significant part of the theater's life was spent under the name of Kirov Ballet - that's how most people in the West know it. From 1935 to 1992, it was officially called the Kirov State Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet.

Despite the challenges, the theater managed to preserve its traditions.

The theater was badly damaged during the siege of Leningrad in WWII, and most of the ballet company - including dancers, sets, and costumes - were evacuated to Perm. However, after the war things quickly returned to normal and the company and theater regained their significant place in the cultural life of St. Petersburg.

In 1968-1970, the theater underwent general reconstruction under the project of a celebrated Russian architect Salomeya Gelfer. It was then that the theater took its present shape.

In 1988, Valery Gergiev became the main conductor of the theater. In 1992 the historical name – The Mariinsky was returned to the theater.

The Mariinsky Theater is home to the Mariinsky Ballet, Mariinsky Opera and Mariinsky Orchestra.

Mariinsky legends

During the second half of the 19th Century, there were two main figures connected to the Mariinsky Theater. One was Eduard Napravnik, who became the chief conductor in 1869 and held this position for 47 years. The other was Marius Petipa, a legendary French-Russian theater master, ballet dancer and choreographer. Petipa was also the first ballet-master to the Tsar from 1869 to 1903.

The first three decades of the 20th Century can rightfully be called the best years of the theater. This period is remembered for the key figures in the history of Russian and world ballet.

The next period is tightly connected with the names of such world ballet heavyweights as Sergey Diaghilev, Anna Pavlova, Mikhail Fokine, Vatslav Nijinsky, Leon Bakst, Feodor Chaliapin, Alexandre Benois, Rudolph Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and many others. Diaghilev's Ballet Russes gave a new lease of life to Russian music, dance and art, bringing it world renown.

In the 1920s, the theater received its great dance teacher Agrippina Vaganova, whose name was given to the dance school at the Mariinsky (The Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet). The Academy spawned the careers of the most celebrated ballet dancers, including such recent stars as Ulyana Lopatkina, Diana Vishneva, and Svetlana Zakharova.

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