News

26.07.2019

Premieres and special events to mark our 187th season

The Mikhailovsky Theatre’s upcoming 187th season will begin on 6 September with the ballet Don Quixote. This sumptuous spectacle and perennial audience favourite will feature Ivan Vasiliev. Our opera season will open on 8 September with The Queen of Spades, in a staging which has come to symbolize respect for classical traditions. Taking up the conductor’s baton will be Alexander Vedernikov.

On 4, 5, and 6 October audiences will have the chance to enjoy our season’s first premiere, as Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato, who is once again heading the Mikhailovsky Ballet, presents his version of La Bayadère. In working with one of the oldest ballets in the Russian repertoire, Nacho Duato has taken care to preserve those fragments of the canonical choreography that brought La Bayadère worldwide renown. The famous Kingdom of the Shades scene, along with the grand pas classique of the second act, which were created by Marius Petipa and expanded by the artists who upheld his legacy in the twentieth century, have been left untouched. The Spanish choreographer sees it as his task to convey the twists and turns of the plot in bold relief, making the action more dynamic and creating distinctive ritual dances with an Indian flavour. Artistic Director Angelina Atlagic has created a stage design and costumes for the production that combine the opulence of the Maharajas with the high simplicity of classicism.

On 25, 27, and 29 November, the Mikhailovsky Theatre will be staging its first ever performance of Verdi’s opera Aida. The plot of this opera, which, uncommonly for the genre, takes place during the reign of the Pharaohs, unfolds with rare emotional intensity against an incredibly rich musical canvas. “An unquestionable masterpiece, finely crafted in both dramatic and musical terms,” says Alexander Vedernikov of the work, which will be his first production at the Mikhailovsky Theatre as both Musical Director and Principal Conductor. Director Igor Ushakov and Artistic Director Marius Nekrosius have provided elegant and succinct set designs for the piece, largely inspired by the drawings made by French archaeologists as they unearthed Egypt’s antiquities.

Vladimir Kekhman, Artistic Director of the Mikhailovsky Theatre: “Our repertoire is being expanded with the addition of two extremely interesting productions. La Bayadère is a project that Nacho Duato and I have been discussing for a number of years, even during his time in Berlin. I’m very glad that my idea proved of interest to him. With his taste and sense of form, this contemporary of ours is sure to breathe new life into this time-honoured ballet. Our production of Aida will represent a decisive step in the Mikhailovsky Theatre’s transition to grand opéra. This is a phase that we have been planning for some time. With a musician of Alexander Vedernikov’s calibre, such a step is both possible and essential.”

As part of the Digital Opera festival, a gala concert will be taking place at the Mikhailovsky Theatre on 12 November featuring some of opera’s best-known international stars. The goal of the festival is to demonstrate how the space inhabited by the traditional genre is coming into contact and interacting with the world of digital technologies.

On 1 December, the Theatre will be hosting the Onegin National Opera Award. A gala award ceremony and concert featuring some of opera’s greatest stars will be held in honour of the 80th birthday of the great Elena Obraztsova, whose artistic destiny was linked to the Mikhailovsky Theatre until her final days.