The Mariinsky Theatre

The Mariinsky Theatre is one of the world's leading opera and ballet theatres; its company traces its history to the Bolshoi Kamenny (Great Stone) Theatre, founded by decree of Catherine II in 1783. The present building on Theatre Square was built in 1859–1860 by the architect Alberto Cavos on the site of the burned-down Circus Theatre, and named in honour of the wife of Emperor Alexander II — Empress Maria Alexandrovna. The first season in the new building opened in October 1860 with Mikhail Glinka's opera "A Life for the Tsar." Between 1883 and 1886 the building was rebuilt by the architect Viktor Schröter, and it was then that ballet performances, previously staged at the old Bolshoi Theatre, were finally moved here permanently.

On the Mariinsky's stage a Russian ballet and opera school of world significance took shape: the choreographer Marius Petipa staged his productions here, Feodor Chaliapin and Leonid Sobinov sang, and Anna Pavlova, Vaslav Nijinsky and Mathilde Kschessinska danced. After the revolution the theatre was nationalised, and in 1935, following the assassination of Leningrad's party leader Sergei Kirov, it was named in his honour and became widely known as the Kirov Theatre — a name the company performed under until 1992, when its historic name was restored. In 1988 Valery Gergiev became the theatre's artistic director and principal conductor, playing a major role in shaping the Mariinsky's modern identity as one of the country's leading musical institutions.

The theatre's auditorium, seating more than 1,600 spectators, is famed for its acoustics and its lavish decoration in blue and gold, with a ceiling painting by the artist Cosroe Duzi; the painted ceiling and curtain have been restored many times, preserving their 19th-century appearance.

Today the theatre complex unites the historic building on Theatre Square, the new Mariinsky II stage, opened in 2013 on the opposite bank of the Kryukov Canal, a concert hall, and branches in Vladivostok and Vladikavkaz. The theatre's historic building — with its five-tiered auditorium, blue-and-gold decoration and famous painted ceiling — remains the calling card of the Mariinsky Theatre and one of the symbols of Saint Petersburg's musical life.