"It is not for nothing Tchaikovsky occupies the pride of place in this stage season. No other composer embodied the St. Petersburg spirit so brilliantly as he did. The best-known Russian music masterpieces came from his pen," said the Mariinsky Theater's press service.
Six out of Tchaikovsky's nine finished operas were first staged at the Mariinsky Theater "which shows that Tchaikovsky was prominent on the company repertoire not only in his lifetime but ever after," stressed the press service.
The festival program includes the best Mariinsky productions to star its top-notch actors.
Opening the festival is The Enchantress, of great operatic excellence, a David Pountnie production, scenery by Robert Innes-Hopkins. The Sleeping Beauty, Mazepa, Eugene Onegin and The Queen of Spades will appear within next week.
The Nutcracker, Tchaikovsky's last ballet, will be performed in the two versions presently on the Mariinsky repertoire. The classic-style Vainonen production, with Virsaladze's scenery, brought up several generations of dancers and ballet-goers. Side by side with it is Valery Gergiyev's pioneer production, with Mikhail Shemyakin's scenery.
The Swan Lake will surely be on. Firmly established at the Mariinsky ever since its St. Petersburg premiere, of 1895, the best achievement of ballet-master Marius Petipa has been deservedly recognized peak of the Russian lyrical ballet.
Top-notch Mariinsky dancers of all generations starred it as Odette - Anna Pavlova, Matilda Krzesinska, Olga Spesiva, Marina Semyonova, Galina Ulanova, and Natalia Makarova.
A concert performance of the one-act opera Iolanthe will come among the most interesting festival events, says the press service. "Superb soloists, choir and orchestra, Gergiyev conducting, are sure to satisfy even the most demanding music-lover."
The brightest of the Mariinsky opera and ballet stars will appear in a final gala concert.
