WHITE NIGHTS FOUNDATION OF AMERICA

Shortly before the opening of the first Stars of the White Nights festival, initiated by Valery Gergiev, the tone of the festival was set by its emblem and grand-sounding name in the myriad listings, interviews, presentations and press-conferences. In the booklet prepared for the opening, the festival's organizers used the paradoxical image of stars in the starless sky above St. Petersburg in June to great effect.

The Stars of the White Nights concert programs are a credit to any philharmonic orchestra. For a traditional Russian "Theatre of Opera and Ballet," as the Mariinsky was for many decades, these programs are merely an "extension" of its basic repertoire. Moreover, as with any extension, this could not be accomplished without the theatre's firm and deep foundations. During the past twenty years, the Mariinsky Theatre's repertoire has been widened on an unprecedented scale.

The fantastic, hitherto unknown artistic tempo set by Valery Gergiev has enabled the theatre to fill the major gaps in its repertoire in a very short period. The most obvious example is Wagner's return to the St. Petersburg stage. Parsifal, Derfliegende Hollander, Lohengrin and the Der Ring des Nihelungen, restoring St Petersburg's fame as a Wagnerian capital.

With regard to ballet, in terms of scale and care only the subsequent return of George Balanchine's ballets can compare (Apollo, Prodigal Son, Serenade, Symphony in C, Theme and Variations, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux and Jewels). Alongside contemporary dance versions of The Rite of Spring, Svadebka, The Nutcracker and Cinderella, the theatre has restored the great ballets of the past, such as Romeo and Juliet, The Legend of Love and Leningrad Symphony. Thanks to surviving ballet notations, the classical versions of Marius Petipa's The Sleeping Beauty and La Bayadère and Mikhail Fokine's The Dying Swan, Chopiniana, Polovtsian Dances, Schéhérazade, The Firebird and Petrouchka have been revived.

The Mariinsky Theatre deservedly earned its reputation as the Theatre of Prokofiev: it is currently the only theatre in Russia (and in the world) which has staged all eight of the composer's operas (Maddalena, The Gambler, Love for Three Oranges, The Fiery Angel, Semyon Kotko, Betrothal in a Monastery, War and Peace and The Story of Real Man).

"Mazepa" with Tatiana Pavlovskaya and Nikolai Putlin

We should not be surprised to see that the opera and ballet repertoires are considered to form the core of Stars of the White Nights festival programs - mostly with all-star casts. But let us, under these impressions, try to cast aside the traditional role of astrologer, who defines the heavenly bodies in accordance with his catalogue of star magnitudes.

The Mariinsky Theatre's festival is dedicated to St. Petersburg, the mysterious “Star of the North.” This year sees the tenth festival. For, as Igor Glebov said, “any artist who has known St. Petersburg, be he not a native, cannot be untouched by the influences of St. Petersburg.”

Based on an article by Iosif Raiskin, in celebration of the Festival’s 10th Anniversary



Stars of the White Nights Festival Maslenitsa Festival International Ballet Festival Moscow Easter Festival Mariinsky Theatre Concert Hall History of the Mariinsky Theatre Traveling to St. Petersburg	For tickets: www.mariinsky.ru/en/ Mariinsky Theatre Interior Shortly before the opening of the first Stars of the White Nights festival, initiated by Valery Gergiev, the tone of the festival was set by its emblem and grand-sounding name in the myriad listings, interviews, presentations and press-conferences. In the booklet prepared for the opening, the festival's organizers used the paradoxical image of stars in the starless sky above St. Petersburg in June to great effect. The Stars of the White Nights concert programs are a credit to any philharmonic orchestra. For a traditional Russian "Theatre of Opera and Ballet," as the Mariinsky was for many decades, these programs are merely an "extension" of its basic repertoire. Moreover, as with any extension, this could not be accomplished without the theatre's firm and deep foundations. During the past twenty years, the Mariinsky Theatre's repertoire has been widened on an unprecedented scale. The fantastic, hitherto unknown artistic tempo set by Valery Gergiev has enabled the theatre to fill the major gaps in its repertoire in a very short period. The most obvious example is Wagner's return to the St. Petersburg stage. Parsifal, Derfliegende Hollander, Lohengrin and the Der Ring des Nihelungen, restoring St Petersburg's fame as a Wagnerian capital. Mariinsky Concert Hall Interior "The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude" with Irina Golub With regard to ballet, in terms of scale and care only the subsequent return of George Balanchine's ballets can compare (Apollo, Prodigal Son, Serenade, Symphony in C, Theme and Variations, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux and Jewels). Alongside contemporary dance versions of The Rite of Spring, Svadebka, The Nutcracker and Cinderella, the theatre has restored the great ballets of the past, such as Romeo and Juliet, The Legend of Love and Leningrad Symphony. Thanks to surviving ballet notations, the classical versions of Marius Petipa's The Sleeping Beauty and La Bayadère and Mikhail Fokine's The Dying Swan, Chopiniana, Polovtsian Dances, Schéhérazade, The Firebird and Petrouchka have been revived. The Mariinsky Theatre deservedly earned its reputation as the Theatre of Prokofiev: it is currently the only theatre in Russia (and in the world) which has staged all eight of the composer's operas (Maddalena, The Gambler, Love for Three Oranges, The Fiery Angel, Semyon Kotko, Betrothal in a Monastery, War and Peace and The Story of Real Man). "Mazepa" with Tatiana Pavlovskaya and Nikolai Putlin We should not be surprised to see that the opera and ballet repertoires are considered to form the core of Stars of the White Nights festival programs - mostly with all-star casts. But let us, under these impressions, try to cast aside the traditional role of astrologer, who defines the heavenly bodies in accordance with his catalogue of star magnitudes. The Mariinsky Theatre's festival is dedicated to St. Petersburg, the mysterious “Star of the North.” This year sees the tenth festival. For, as Igor Glebov said, “any artist who has known St. Petersburg, be he not a native, cannot be untouched by the influences of St. Petersburg.” *Based on an article by Iosif Raiskin, in celebration of the Festival’s 10th Anniversary*