THÉÂTRE D’OPÉRA ET DE BALLET MARIINSKY

Tonight again, as they have for almost 160 years, the musicians, singers and dancers of the Mariinsky will perform the show of life. This theater and ballet company have become the most famous in the world. Founded in 1860 opposite the great Kamenny Theater and named after Empress Mary, wife of Alexander II, the Mariinsky Theater has hosted the greatest performers, including Rostropovich and Richter, and the most famous Russian dancers. Today, the theater company is under the patronage of the President of Russia. Grigorovich worked there before leaving for the Bolshoi Theater. The construction of a second stage of a very contemporary style, inaugurated in May 2013, but which is not to the taste of all Petersburgers in the historic center, marks a new stage in the long history of this world monument of music and dance.