Mariinski Theatre

The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. Through most of the Soviet era, it was known as the Kirov Theatre. Today, the Mariinsky Theatre is home to the Mariinsky Ballet, Mariinsky Opera and Mariinsky Orchestra. Since Yuri Temirkanov's retirement in 1988, the conductor Valery Gergiev has served as the theatre's general director.

Name

The theatre is named after Empress Maria Alexandrovna, wife of Tsar 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 ( rus, Императорский Мариинский театр)
* 1920 – 1924: State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet ( rus, Государственный академический театр оперы и балета)
* 1924 – 1935: Leningrad State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet ( rus, Ленинградский государственный академический театр оперы и балета)
* 1935 – 1992: Kirov State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet ( rus, Государственный академический театр оперы и балета имени С. М. Кирова) (one of numerous places and institutions named or renamed at that time for Sergei Kirov)
* 1992 – present: State Academic Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, 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 the ''Mariinsky Theatre''. The companies that operate within it have for brand recognition purposes retained the ''Kirov'' name, acquired during the Soviet era to commemorate the assassinated Leningrad Communist Party leader Sergey Kirov (1886–1934).

Origins

The Imperial drama, opera and ballet troupe in Saint Petersburg was established in 1783, at the behest of Catherine 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 by Antonio Rinaldi and opened in 1783. Known as the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, the structure was situated on Carousel Square, which was renamed Theatre Square in honour of the building. 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 by Albert Cavos (son of Catterino Cavos, an opera composer), and served as the principal theatre of the Imperial Ballet and opera.

On 29 January 1849, the Equestrian circus (Конный цирк) opened on Theatre Square. This was also the work of the architect Cavos. The building was designed to double as a theatre.

Leading role

The Imperial Mariinsky Theatre and its predecessor, the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, hosted the premieres of many of the operas of Mikhail Glinka, Modest Mussorgsky, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. At the behest of the theatre director Ivan Vsevolozhsky, both the Imperial Ballet (ballet arrived at the Mariinsky theater in 1870) and the Imperial Opera were relocated to the Mariinsky Theatre in 1886, as the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre was considered unsafe.

Other world premieres given at the house included Mussorgsky's opera '' Boris Godunov'' in 1874, Tchaikovsky's operas '' The Queen of Spades'' in 1890 and ''Iolanta'' in 1892, the revised version of Prokofiev's ballet '' Romeo and Juliet'' in 1940, and Khachaturian's ballet ''Spartacus'' in 1956. Other notable productions included Rimsky-Korsakov's opera ''The Golden Cockerel'' in 1909 and Prokofiev's ballet ''Cinderella'' in 1946 (with Natalya Dudinskaya).

The imperial and Soviet theater was the home of numerous impresarios, conductors, and musicians.

Conductors: Mikhail Zhukov (1932–35), Israel Chudnovsky and others.

Ballet: The ballet school of the Mariinsky Theatre spawned the careers of artists Mathilde Kschessinskaya, Olga Preobrajenskaya, Anna Pavlova, Tamara Karsavina, Vaslav Nijinsky, and George Balanchine, students of the Imperial Ballet School and style, and, under and after the teachings of Agrippina Vaganova, artists Marina Semyonova, Galina Ulanova, Rudolf Nureyev, Natalia Makarova, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Irina Kolpakova

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