Artistic director of the Mariinsky Theater. Valery Gergiev, artistic director and director of the Mariinsky theater, accepts birthday greetings

History of the Mariinsky Theater is counted from the Bolshoi Theater founded by the decree of Catherine II in 1783, which was located on the site of the current Conservatory (Theater Square in St. Petersburg). In 1848 the building of the Mariinsky Theater was erected by the outstanding architect A. Kawas, a prominent representative of late classicism. The name of the theater is associated with the name of the wife of Alexander II, Empress Maria Alexandrovna.

The first performance at the theater took place on October 2, 1860. It was an opera by M.I. Glinka "Life for the Tsar". Premieres of such masterpieces of Russian classics as Ruslan and Lyudmila, Boris Godunov, Khovanshchina took place on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater, Tchaikovsky's operas and ballets were staged and presented to the audience. At the Mariinsky Theater, Aida, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Carmen and others were staged for the first time on the Russian stage.

The theater has become the center of the cultural life of St. Petersburg. In the period from 1883 to 1896, under the leadership of V. Schreter, a Russian architect of German origin, the theater was reconstructed, mainly the auditorium. The auditorium of the Mariinsky Theater is one of the most beautiful in the world. It is decorated with a luxurious three-tiered chandelier and a picturesque plafond made by the painter Fracioli, gilded stucco decorations and sculptures, the famous curtain by the Russian artist and set designer A. Golovin.

The enumeration of the names of cultural figures associated with the state academic theater would take an infinite number of pages, let's name only a few of them: M. Petipa, F. Chaliapin, A. Istomin, E. Semenova, V. Nijinsky, L. Sobinov, G. Ulanova, A. Pavlova, R. Nuriev. The Soviet period in the history of the theater was marked by the fact that in 1919 the Mariinsky Theater - Mariinskii Opera House received academic status. In 1935 he was named after S.M. Kirov, which he wore until 1992. During the war, the theater was evacuated to Perm, where it held its performances. Currently, work is underway to create the second stage of the theater. The new building will be located next to the historic building, on the other side of the Kryukov Canal. The architect is the Frenchman Dominique Perrault. The artistic director and director of the theater is Valery Abisalovich Gergiev. His performances become a discovery for the world music community. V. Gergiev is one of the outstanding conductors of the world of our time.

Historical places, attractions in St. Petersburg:

Going to the play, I kept in mind the recent premiere of the Mariinsky Theater on the stage of the Concert Hall "Notes of a Madman" directed by Gleb Cherepanov. Gogol was rethought in a very original and innovative way, in the spirit of Butsko's music. The action took place in the arena of the circus. The only, but, unfortunately, the most dominant drawback of "Notes ..." was the indistinct diction of the quite vocal baritone Dmitry Garbovsky. And Cherepanov did not foresee the credits, I was saved then by the textbook knowledge of the test - I re-read Gogol the day before the premiere. But I liked this theater of grotesque and absurdity.
I expected the same unusual and bizarre from his production of Mozart's "Theater Director". During the overture, they began with a video series of real-life shots of the installation of the scenery on different stages of the Mariinsky Theater - idols from the Ring of the Nibelungen and the trunks of birch trees from Shchedrin's Not Only Love, going into the sky. Really the plot will be tied to the modern backstage of the Mariinsky Theater - a seditious thought slipped through my head.
But the screen came up - and everything fell into its quite traditional places. Late 19th century, Europe, theater director and bass comedian Buff gather a troupe to tour the festival in the city of Rumburg. Reception of bleached and painted on clown faces is repeated. White Clown - Theater Director (Andrey Gorbunov - not a singing actor) and Red Clown (bass Denis Begansky).
Opera program:


Frankly, in the presented singspiel of Mozart there is a "zing", and what exactly it was, but there was a problem with the "spire". In the absence of music, the action desperately fell into triviality and boredom. I blame this, firstly, on the unsuccessful Russian-language dialogues, and, secondly, on the faded play of the only dramatic actor Andrey Gorbunov- poor speech technique (inaudible when turned sideways or back), and a primitive manner of playing. Against him, our singer Denis Begansky with a perfectly set voice and comic plasticity, he simply saved the boring dialogues with the director.
But when the main heroines of the opera appeared on the stage Mrs. Herz (Olga Pudova) and Mrs. Zilberklang (Antonina Vesenina), and most importantly - the music began to sound, the performance found a second wind. These young singers can practically do anything - sing masterly, play talentedly and, if necessary, dance great. Probably inspired by the abilities of Pudova and Vesenina, the director showed imagination and invention in the scenes of the arias. It turned out four concert numbers - each singer added a bonus aria to the score.
An imaginary coloratura battle of two sopranos captured the audience. Veteran diva Mistress Herz vs rising star Mistress Silberklang.
Pudova first sang in the form of a mermaid in the sea, capriciously throwing out her fake tail in the finale. Then she came out in the image of Cleopatra with a plush snake, easily singing Alcesta's most complex aria "Io non chiedo, eterni Dei" with some insanely transcendent top notes.
Vesenin, together with Begansky, played a scene of Little Red Riding Hood and the Gray Wolf. And Clorinda's bonus aria "No, che non sei capace" was presented in the form of a warlike Maid of Orleans.
Tenor output Mr. Vogelsang (Dmitry Voropaev) was greeted with thunderous applause - the tenor was already adored by everyone :). True, he had nothing special to sing there - only in the tercet and the finale together with everyone. And how I would like a bonus for Dmitry Voropaev ...
Orchestra led by Anton Gakkel sounded wonderful - light, transparent, like Mozart.

IMHO, for the further successful fate of the performance, the following should be done:
- Transfer to the KZ stage. The historical stage turned out to be too spacious for this chamber singspiel.
- Change the Russian-language dialogues, adding more comic and grotesque.
- Replace the actor playing the Theater Director. And better - to grow in your Mariinsky team :).
- Add an aria for tenor.
I'll grumble again :). The duration of the performance with all the inserted arias is only 1 hour. As a children's matinee, these "sings" in German are unlikely to be rolled out, and adults obviously will not be able to "continue the banquet" in the form of a second chamber opera after the intermission. And that does not work out solidly - they called the people for an hour and they took the money, as for a serious opera.

P.S. The repertoire of the Zazerkalye theater includes an excellent Theater Director. It is a pity, they are extremely rare. A wonderful plot was invented there - the Director of the theater, who adores Mozart, saves the theater from bankruptcy. There are many characters, a lot of music. In short - a lot of excellent "zing" and a lot of good "spire". And one evening they also give Puccini's comic opera Gianni Schicchi.

Photos of bows:

Director Gleb Cherepanov and conductor Anton Gakkel

Theaters have taken an important step in the history of the formation of the culture and traditions of Russia. Among the significant and outstanding theaters and a unique historical and architectural landmark of the country, the Mariinsky Theater has become. Art connoisseurs have always ranked him among the best. Many historians, architects, and ordinary citizens are interested in the history of the creation of the Mariinsky Theater.

It is eventful and noteworthy. The date of foundation and the beginning of the existence of the Mariinsky Theater is considered 1783, when, on the direct order of Catherine, a decision was made to open the Bolshoi Stone Theater on Teatralnaya Square, at that time it was called Carousel Square.

In the middle of the nineteenth century, in 1859, the Circus Theater, built just opposite the famous Bolshoi Theater, was, unfortunately, completely destroyed, caused by a severe fire. Instead of the burned down building, a new building was erected - the building of the now famous Mariinsky Theater. It got its name not by chance, it was customary to call it the Mariinsky. This name was given to him for a reason - in honor of Empress Maria Alexandrovna (wife of Alexander II).

In this theater, the first theatrical season opened a little later, only in 1860. A little later, it was decided to rebuild it, and the entire repertoire was transferred to the stage of the Mariinsky Theater.

Each era in history has left its own historical imprint. During the revolutionary period, the theater changed its name to the State Theater, and in 1920 it was renamed the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater. But the renaming of the theater did not end there either - in the mid-thirties (1935) it was named after the famous revolutionary Sergei Kirov.

Contemporary Mariinsky Theater

At the moment, it includes three operating sites:

- the main site - the theater building itself on Teatralnaya;
- the second stage was opened in 2013;
- the third stage - the Concert Hall, opened on the street. Decembrists.

Over the years of its existence, a huge number of unique works have been staged on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater. You could buy tickets for the Nutcracker ballet, enjoy the magnificent performance of The Sleeping Beauty, Peter Grimes, and others.

Over the years of the twentieth century, over thirty operas and 29 ballets have passed on its stage. This is a very high figure. The best composers and artistic directors of the country found their inspiration here. Today, a huge number of professional actors work here - real aces of theatrical art.

It should be noted that the Great Patriotic War left a huge unpleasant imprint on the history of the theater itself. In addition to material damage, the theater staff lost about three hundred artists, who, unfortunately, died at the front.

Many guests from other countries came to the country to see the unique play of talented actors. Every year the theater hosted many people wishing to see the famous Mariinsky performances.

Many artists participating in popular and well-known even today performances were marked with special gratitude and awards.

Let's hope that buildings like the Mariinsky Theater will no longer face drastic changes. Due to the small funding from the state, the actors have to get involved in the development of the repertoire. Every year we can observe that the efforts of our ancestors were not in vain - the stage of the Mariinsky Theater was presented by a fairly large number of outstanding actors and opera performers.

scandal ballet

Yesterday Kommersant learned that the head of the ballet troupe of the Mariinsky Theater, Makhar Vaziev, on March 12, wrote a letter of resignation to the directorate of the theater. He wishes to be relieved of his post on March 24, at the end of the Mariinsky International Ballet Festival.

The day before the start of the 8th Mariinsky International Ballet Festival, Makhar Vaziev, the permanent head of the Mariinsky ballet troupe for 12 years, resigned. No external impulses to this step were noticed, the statement has not yet been signed.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the ballet troupe is tense. Kommersant learned that a group of leading dancers made an attempt to write a collective letter addressed to Valery Gergiev in support of Makhar Vaziev, but this letter was never completed.

The tension between the ballet management and the artistic director of the Mariinsky has been growing over the last season, in particular as a result of the increasing talk that Mr. Gergiev is looking for an artistic director of the ballet troupe (without whom she managed the entire life of Mr. Vaziev).

Among the applicants for this place are 35-year-old ballet soloist Ulyana Lopatkina, whose dance career is on the decline; 39-year-old Igor Zelensky, who last season became the artistic director of the ballet at the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater; 49-year-old head of the Vaganov school Altynai Asylmuratova and, finally, 70-year-old Elena Chernysheva, a former dancer of the corps de ballet of the Kirov Theater, who emigrated to the United States in the 1970s, remembered both for her tutoring at the American Ballet Theater under Mikhail Baryshnikov, and for her thunder director of the Vienna Opera Ballet.

Makhar Vaziev, who was appointed head of the troupe back in 1995 under the then head of the Mariinsky Theater, chief choreographer Oleg Vinogradov, actually served as artistic director for all these years. The head of the group in most theaters is a technical position, not an artistic and political one. The head of the troupe regulates ballet ensembles, schedules rehearsals and monitors the current state of the troupe. The artistic director is a figure of a different scale, who determines both the tactics and the artistic strategy of the theater. However, Mr. Vaziev did not wait for the official appointment and was clearly offended by the fact that this position would go to another person who will henceforth determine the artistic policy of the Mariinsky ballet. Moreover, it was under the direction of Makhar Vaziev that the Mariinsky troupe achieved a leading position in the world ballet market. Under him, ballet became civilized, succeeded in reconstructing classics like The Sleeping Beauty, and mastered the world ballet repertoire of the 20th century.

“Vaziev was unusually far-sighted in his decisions, which he made as director of the Mariinsky Ballet. He had the gift of foresight in both the choice of ballets for performance and in the choice of choreographers whom he invited to create new works for his dancers. Makhar Vaziev literally brought the Mariinsky ballet into the 20th century, "the famous American choreographer William Forsyth commented on the news of Vaziev's resignation.

The comparatively liberal repertoire policy and skillful building of a system of checks and balances, without which the work of such a complex collective as a ballet troupe is inconceivable, may soon remain in the past for the Mariinsky Theater. This, apparently, is the fear of the dancers, who are trying - so far unsuccessfully - to compose collective letters. The Mariinsky Theater did not comment on the news in any way. So far, Makhar Vaziev himself has refused to comment, who hopes to personally explain himself with the theater director in the near future. It is possible that the dismissal of Mr. Vaziev appears to Valery Gergiev as an opportunity to extend his power to the ballet troupe. However, he will not be able to perform the functions of artistic director of the ballet on his own. With the departure of Makhar Vaziev, the question will arise of appointing a new head of the Mariinsky Ballet - now in the rank of artistic director. This will be the choice of Valery Gergiev, his creature, with whom he will have to share artistic power in the theater, and his responsibility.

Mariinskii Opera House. MARIINSKY THEATER (named after Empress Maria Alexandrovna), opera and ballet theater in St. Petersburg. Opened in 1860 with the production of the opera “A Life for the Tsar” by M.I. Glinka in the building of the Circus Theater rebuilt in 1859 on Teatralnaya Square ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

MARIINSKII OPERA HOUSE- opened in 1783 in St. Petersburg as the Stone (Bolshoi) Theater, since 1860 in a modern building (architect A. K. Kavos), at the same time it received its modern name; in 1919 1991 the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, from 1935 named. S. M. Kirov, since 1992 ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

MARIINSKII OPERA HOUSE- (named after Empress Maria Alexandrovna), Opera and Ballet Theater in St. Petersburg. Opened in 1860 with the production of the opera Life for the Tsar M.I. Glinka in the building of the Circus Theater rebuilt in 1859 on Teatralnaya Square (reconstructed in 1968-1970). One ... ... Russian history

Mariinskii Opera House- (see the Kirov Opera and Ballet Theater). Saint Petersburg. Petrograd. Leningrad: Encyclopedic Reference. M .: Great Russian Encyclopedia. Ed. collegium: Belova L.N., Buldakov G.N., Degtyarev A.Ya. et al. 1992 ... Saint Petersburg (encyclopedia)

Mariinskii Opera House- The Mariinsky Theater, see the Kirov Opera and Ballet Theater ... Encyclopedic reference book "St. Petersburg"

Mariinskii Opera House- opened in 1783 in St. Petersburg as the Stone (Bolshoi) Theater, since 1860 in a modern building (architect A.K. Kavos), at the same time it received its modern name; in 1919 1991 State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, since 1935 named after S. M. Kirov ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Mariinskii Opera House Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Mariinskii Opera House- in St. Petersburg. open 2 oct. 1860 renewal of the opera Life for the Tsar. Rebuilt by the architect A.K. Kavos from the circus theater that burned down in 1859. Recently (1894 96) the theater has been overhauled. Significant work to improve ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

Mariinskii Opera House- see the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater ... Musical encyclopedia

Mariinskii Opera House- MARIINSKY THEATER, see the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater ... Ballet. Encyclopedia

Books

• Bolshoi Theater Culture and Politics New History, Volkov S. .. The Bolshoi Theater is one of the most famous brands in Russia. In the West, the word Bolshoi needs no translation. Now it seems that it has always been this way. Not at all. For many years the main musical ... Buy for 848 rubles
• The Bolshoi Theatre. Culture and politics. New history, Volkov Solomon. The Bolshoi Theater is one of the most famous brands in Russia. In the West, the word Bolshoi needs no translation. But it was not always so. For many years, the main musical theater of the empire was considered ...