"management of the Mariinsky Theatre, with Valery Gergiev as Artistic Director. Gergiev also serves as Director of the opera company. The two companies operate as separate units. The basis of the Mariinsky Ballet consists of the following artists: For a number of years, Marius Petipa was the ballet master of the ""Imperial Russian Ballet"". One of the most famous names in ballet history, Petipa was the choreographer of some of the best known classical ballets including: Mariinsky Ballet The Mariinsky Ballet is the resident classical ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century"
"Valery Gergiev Mariinsky Label Website Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos 1 & 15 conducted by Valery Gergiev Mariinsky Label Website Stravinsky: ""Oedipus Rex"" / ""Les Noces"" conducted by Valery Gergiev Mariinsky Label Website Tchaikovsky: ""1812"", ""Moscow Cantata"", ""Marche Slave"" conducted by Valery Gergiev Mariinsky Label Website Mariinsky Theatre The Mariinsky Theatre (, Mariinskiy Teatr, also spelled 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"
"Jean-Baptiste Landé Jean-Baptiste Landé (died 26 February 1748) was a French ballet dancer, active in Sweden, Denmark and Russia. He is the founder of the Russian Ballet Mariinsky Ballet. Landé was employed at the Polish royal court in Dresden when he was engaged by king Frederick I of Sweden in 1721. He was appointed dancing master of the Swedish court, and in 1723 he became the director of the French Opera-Theatre in Bollhuset in Stockholm, which he named ""L'Académie royale de musique et de danse"". In 1726, he was a guest ballet master at the first theatre in Denmark, the"
"Ballet School was established in 1738 with Landé as its ballet master. He educated the first dancers in Russia, which were taken from the staff at the royal palace: Timofei Bublikov, Nikolai Choglokov, Afanasy Toporkov, Ivan Shatilov, Nikolai Tolubeyev, Sergei Chalyshkin, Andrei Samarin and Andrei Nesterov, and among the females Yelizaveta, Avdotia Timofeyeva and Aksinya Sergeeva. Landé was the dance instructor of Catherine the Great after her arrival in Russia in 1744. Jean-Baptiste Landé Jean-Baptiste Landé (died 26 February 1748) was a French ballet dancer, active in Sweden, Denmark and Russia. He is the founder of the Russian Ballet Mariinsky"
"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: ""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). The Imperial drama, opera and ballet troupe"
"at the Maly Operny: Samuil Samosud conducted world premiere performances of his ""The Nose"" and ""Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District"", the famous Vsevolod Meyerhold production of ""The Queen of Spades"" was staged there, and the world premiere of Prokofiev's epic opera ""War and Peace"" took place on the theatre's stage on June 12, 1946. In 1930s Russian choreographer Fyodor Lopukhov founded the ballet company of the Theatre. The first ballet premiere, ""Harlequinade"", choreographed by Lopukhov, took place on June 6, 1933. From 1989 to 2007, the theatre bore the name of Modest Mussorgsky, subsequently returning to its original name"
"Kirov Theatre (as the Mariinsky had now been renamed) in Leningrad, was the ballet ""Romeo and Juliet"", composed to a scenario created by Adrian Piotrovsky and Sergei Radlov following the precepts of ""drambalet"" (dramatised ballet, officially promoted at the Kirov to replace works based primarily on choreographic display and innovation). Following Radlov's acrimonious resignation from the Kirov in June 1934, a new agreement was signed with the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow on the understanding that Piotrovsky would remain involved. However, the ballet's original happy ending (contrary to Shakespeare) provoked controversy among Soviet cultural officials; the ballet's production was then postponed"
"Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg Other venues in Russia Marius Petipa Marius Ivanovich Petipa (Russian: Ма́риус Ива́нович Петипа́), born Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa (11 March 1818), was a French and Russian ballet dancer, pedagogue and choreographer. Petipa is considered to be one of the most influential ballet masters and choreographers in ballet history. Marius Petipa is noted for his long career as ""Premier maître de ballet"" (""First Ballet Master"") of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres, making him Ballet Master and principal choreographer of the Imperial Ballet (precursor of the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet), a position he held from 1871 until 1903. Petipa created"
"guest performances. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, there have been a few attempts to reduce the theatre's traditional dependence on large state subsidies. Corporate sponsorship occurs for some productions, but state funding is still the lifeblood of the company. The Bolshoi has been associated from its beginnings with ballet. Tchaikovsky's ballet ""Swan Lake"" premiered at the theatre on 4 March 1877. Other staples of the Bolshoi repertoire include Tchaikovsky's ""The Sleeping Beauty"" and ""The Nutcracker"", Adam's ""Giselle"", Prokofiev's ""Romeo and Juliet"", and Khachaturian's ""Spartacus"". The chief ballet conductor from 1923 to 1963 was Yuri Fayer. After the death"
"Until 1886, the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre was principal theatre for both the Imperial Ballet and the Imperial Russian Opera. It was there that the first Russian operas — Glinka's ""A Life for the Tsar"" and ""Ruslan and Lyudmila"" — were premiered. Although the theatre would include many of the great Russian operas in its repertory, many of the works of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their world premieres on the stage of the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre. Many of the great 19th century ballets of Marius Petipa and Arthur Saint-Léon were given for the first time on the stage of the"
"In 1907 Nijinsky made his solo debut in the last act of ""La source"" at the Mariinsky. The ballet was revived in 1925 by Agrippina Vaganova to the Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Leningrad to her pupil Marina Semyonova – Marina Semyonova started to work on the scene from this ballet. A video of the ""La source"" pas de deux taken from the 2008 graduation performance of the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, may be found on YouTube, the choreography credited to Konstantin Sergeyev after Coppini and possibly created for Preobrajenskaya; the music"
"corps de ballet. Due to its size, the company operates two troupes of corps de ballet. In 2000, the Bolshoi Ballet opened its first Ballet Academy outside Russia, in Joinville, Brazil. The performance style of the Bolshoi Ballet is typically identified as being colourful and bold, combining technique and athleticism with expressiveness and dramatic intensity. This style is commonly attributed to Alexander Forsky. Historically there has been a fierce rivalry with the St. Petersburg Heritage Ballet Company, the Mariinsky. Both have developed very different performing styles: the Bolshoi has a more colourful and bold approach, whereas the Mariinsky is associated"
"was adopted in later performances. By the late 1950s, Rudolf Nureyev had become a sensation in the Soviet Union. Yet, as the Mariinsky Ballet was preparing to go on a tour to Paris and London, Nureyev's rebellious character and a non-conformist attitude made him an unlikely candidate for a trip to the West, which was to be of crucial importance to the Soviet government's ambitions to portray their cultural supremacy. Furthermore, tensions between Rudolf Nureyev and the Mariinsky's artistic director Konstantin Sergeyev, husband and former dance partner of Natalia Dudinskaya, were growing. After a representative of the French tour organizers"
"outside Russia is the Mariinsky Theatre (former Kirov Theatre of Opera and Ballet), which has been styled the capital of the world ballet. The Ciniselli Circus is one of the oldest circus buildings in the world. The Opera House at Saint Petersburg Conservatory, the first in Russia, was founded in 1861 by Anton Rubinstein and bears the name of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov; its alumni include Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich who also taught here. Probably the most familiar symbol of St Petersburg is the equestrian statue of Peter the Great, known as the ""Bronze Horseman"" and installed in 1782 on the Senate"
"February 2015, two days before his father's 30th birthday. Maria Shirinkina Maria Shirinkina (Russian: Мария Ширинкина, born 18 April 1987) is a second soloist of the Mariinsky Ballet and a guest principal dancer of the Bayerisches Staatsballett. Maria Shirinkina was born in Perm and studied at the Perm Ballet School under Ninel Silvanovich. She graduated in 2006 and, upon her graduation, she joined the Mariinsky Ballet, becoming the first graduate from Perm to do so. She was promoted to second soloist in 2011 following her début as Juliet in Leonid Lavrovsky's ""Romeo and Juliet"". She has toured across the world"
"Shiryaev prepared a book of memoirs ""St. Petersburg Ballet. From Reminiscences of the Mariinsky Theatre Artist"". It was meant to be published by the Union of Theatre Workers, but was postponed. The copy had been kept safe in the National Library of Russia and was first published in 2004 in the ""Notes by Film Historian"" magazine № 67. After his death the school theatre under the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet became known as A. V. Shiryaev's Training Theatre. In 2016 the name became official. Alexander Shiryaev Alexander Viktorovich Shiryaev (; — 25 April 1941) was a Russian ballet dancer,"
"two suites. Prokofiev was not able to attend the premiere due to his status of outbound restriction. It is better known today from the significantly revised version that was first presented at the Kirov Theatre (now Mariinsky Theatre) in Leningrad on 11 January 1940, with choreography by Leonid Lavrovsky and with Galina Ulanova and Konstantin Sergeyev in the leading roles. Despite the objections of Prokofiev, Lavrovsky significantly changed the score of the ballet. This production received international acclaim and was awarded the Stalin Prize. In 1955, Mosfilm made the film version of this production with Galina Ulanova as Juliet and"
"and later the ""State Academic Ballet"", before it was renamed the ""Kirov Ballet""). By 1928 ""Le Corsaire"" had been performed 224 times since 1899 at the Mariinsky Theatre. Agrippina Vaganova, the revered pedagogue of Russian Ballet, supervised the first noted post-revolution revival of ""Le Corsaire"" for the Kirov Ballet, first performed on 15 May 1931 (Mikhail Dudko as Conrad). In 1936 another revival of ""Le Corsaire"" was given by the Kirov Ballet, with Natalia Dudinskaya as Medora, Mikhail Mikhailov as Conrad, and Vakhtang Chabukiani as the Slave (or Rhab, as the character was known in Russia). This was the first"
"seeking employment with ballet companies in Russia and worldwide, including leading companies such as the Bolshoi Ballet, The Royal Ballet, and the American Ballet Theatre. Grigorovich Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet The Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet is a school of classical ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Established in 1738 during the reign of Empress Anna, the academy was known as the Imperial Ballet School up until Soviet times, when, after a brief hiatus, the school was re-established as the Leningrad State Choreographic Institute. In 1957, the school was renamed in honor of the renowned pedagogue Agrippina Vaganova, who cultivated"
"Maria Shirinkina Maria Shirinkina (Russian: Мария Ширинкина, born 18 April 1987) is a second soloist of the Mariinsky Ballet and a guest principal dancer of the Bayerisches Staatsballett. Maria Shirinkina was born in Perm and studied at the Perm Ballet School under Ninel Silvanovich. She graduated in 2006 and, upon her graduation, she joined the Mariinsky Ballet, becoming the first graduate from Perm to do so. She was promoted to second soloist in 2011 following her début as Juliet in Leonid Lavrovsky's ""Romeo and Juliet"". She has toured across the world with the Mariinsky Ballet to places such as the"
"Maria Karnilova Maria Karnilova (August 3, 1920 – April 20, 2001) was an American dancer and actress. She was initially known legally as Maria Karniloff. She was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the daughter of Filip and Stefanida Dovgolenko (or Dowholonok), emigrants from Tsarist Russia. The family later moved to Brooklyn, New York. She started her professional career in 1927 in the Children's Ballet of the Metropolitan Opera and joined the corps when Ballet Theater, now American Ballet Theater, was founded in 1939. She adopted the name Karniloff, and later, Karnilova as her professional name. Her professional surname was often ascribed"
"Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet in 1995, and to date the company has no production of the full-length work in their repertory. The first performances of any Russian version of ""La Fille mal gardée"" (i.e., derived from Petipa and Ivanov's revivals) in the West were presented by the touring company of the legendary ballerina Anna Pavlova, one of the most celebrated interpreters of the role of Lise, who while touring London in 1912 performed in an abridged version of the ballet. Bronislava Nijinska staged the first production of ""La Fille mal gardée"" in the United States for American Ballet Theatre (then known as"
"genuine Russian dances. This re-staging separated the two ways the ballet was performed - the classical dance in Saint Petersburg and the dance incorporated into the performance in Moscow. This eventually developed into two schools of Russian Ballet, which survived well into the 1930s. Subsequently, the Moscow school ceased to exist when a large number of Saint Petersburg dancers were moved to Moscow in the 1930s. A hundred years later, in 1960, the Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin created a new ballet on the same subject. The Little Humpbacked Horse (ballet) The Little Humpbacked Horse, or The Tsar Maiden (a.k.a. Konyok"
"was first staged for New York City Ballet by Frederic Franklin on 15 October 1964 at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center. Balanchine restaged it in 1973 with its current title. Traditional tutus and scenery in the grand Russian style were used through the 1964 NYCB revival; since 1973 it has been danced with chiffon skirts designed by Karinska and without scenery. Balanchine said that the ballet is ""a contemporary tribute to Petipa, 'the father of the classical ballet,' and to Tschaikovsky, his greatest composer."" Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2 (ballet) Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2, originally called Ballet"
"Mikhail Baryshnikov Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov (; ; born January 27, 1948), nicknamed ""Misha"" (Russian diminutive of the name ""Mikhail""), is a Latvian-born Russian and American dancer, choreographer, and actor. He is often cited alongside Vaslav Nijinsky, Rudolf Nureyev and Vladimir Vasiliev as one of the greatest male ballet dancers in history. After a promising start in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, Baryshnikov defected to Canada in 1974 for more opportunities in western dance. After freelancing with many companies, he joined the New York City Ballet as a principal dancer to learn George Balanchine's style of movement. He then danced with"
"ballet dancers Anna Pavlova and Vaslav Nijinsky rose to fame, and impresario Sergei Diaghilev and his Ballets Russes' travels abroad profoundly influenced the development of dance worldwide. Soviet ballet preserved the perfected 19th-century traditions, and the Soviet Union's choreography schools produced many internationally famous stars, including Galina Ulanova, Maya Plisetskaya, Rudolf Nureyev, and Mikhail Baryshnikov. The Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow and the Mariinsky Ballet in St Petersburg remain famous throughout the world. Modern Russian rock music takes its roots both in the Western rock and roll and heavy metal, and in traditions of the Russian bards of the Soviet era,"
"the theatre's name to indicate its expansion. The performances by the theatre company during the ""Decade of Belarusian Art"" in Moscow in June 1940 was a great success which included the first Belarusian ballet, ""The Nightingale"" composed by Mikhail Kroshner, as well as other national operas such as ""In the Dense Forest of Palesse"", ""The Flower of Fortune"", and the second version of ""Mikhas Padgorny"". Performances continued during the war in Nizhny Novgorod, then known as Gorky until the liberation of Minsk in 1944; after that performances took place in Kovrov. Enrichment of post World War 2 repertoire and expansion"
"Mariinsky Theatre, in which he restored the long-lost fourth act with the destruction of the temple. However, the production received the same hostility from the Mariinsky company that they had bestowed upon Vikharev's reconstruction of ""The Sleeping Beauty"" and as a result, at least 75% of the Soviet choreographic passages were retained in favour of the notated passages. It was not until 2007 that his reconstructing of Petipa's ballets was finally met with success in Russia when he reconstructed Petipa's one-act ballet ""The Awakening of Flora"", which had not been performed since 1919. Unlike his previous reconstructions, Vikharev's reconstruction of"
"Russia’s Golden Mask theatre prize (2013) in the categories: “Ballet/ Best Production” and “Ballet/Contemporary dance/Best actress” (Diana Vishneva: Dialogues) Diana Vishneva Diana Viktorovna Vishneva (""also trans."" Vishnyova; ; born 13 July 1976) is a Russian ballet dancer who performs as a principal dancer with the Mariinsky Ballet (formerly the Kirov Ballet). Vishneva was born in Leningrad, Soviet Union (now Saint Petersburg, Russia). She has stated that she has Russian and Tatar heritage. She married Konstantin Selinevich in 2013. They have a son, Rudolf-Viktor, born 13 May 2018. Vishneva was trained at the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet. While at the"
"Tsar himself. The original choreography was created by Arthur Saint-Léon and was set to music by Cesare Pugni. The ballet was first presented by the Imperial Ballet on at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. Marfa Muravyova (as the Tsar Maiden) and Timofey Stukolkin (as Ivanushka) were planned as principal performers. However, Stukolkin had broken his leg and was replaced with Nilolay Troitsky, who had no previous experience of dancing principal roles. The ballet became an important milestone in the development of Russian ballet. It was the first ballet based on a Russian story. Composer Pugni included"
"Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet The Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet is a school of classical ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Established in 1738 during the reign of Empress Anna, the academy was known as the Imperial Ballet School up until Soviet times, when, after a brief hiatus, the school was re-established as the Leningrad State Choreographic Institute. In 1957, the school was renamed in honor of the renowned pedagogue Agrippina Vaganova, who cultivated the method of classical ballet training that has been taught there since the late 1920s. Graduates of the school include some of the most famous ballet"
"couple lives in St Petersburg with their three children. Leonid Sarafanov Leonid Sarafanov (born 28 June 1982 in Kiev, Ukraine) is a principal ballet dancer with the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St Petersburg, Russia. Leonid Sarafanov studied at the Kiev State School of Choreography and graduated in 2000, joining the National Ballet of Ukraine the same year as soloist. In 2002, he was invited to join the Mariinsky Ballet in St Petersburg by the director of the time, Makhar Vaziev and quickly became famous. The young Ukrainian was catapulted into the most challenging of roles in the Mariinsky repertoire and abroad"
"her brother Nijinsky, however, left Russia during the summers of 1909 and 1910 to perform for Diaghilev's company in Paris. Nijinska danced with the Mariinsky Ballet for three years. Yet the growth and insights acquired at Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, which was then unexpectedly revolutionizing the ballet world, clearly exceeded that at Mariinsky Theater. Then, suddenly, she felt compelled to resign after the Theater's dismissal of her brother Vaslav, chiefly because his star performances in Paris were making ballet-world headlines. As a result, Nijinska was deprived of her rights respecting the title 'Artist of the Imperial Theaters' and its associated income."