Shows

Moscow, Moscow

The Bolshoi Theatre is the most revered performing arts showroom in Russia — the home of the Bolshoi Ballet (the world's most famous ballet company, having produced Galina Ulanova, Maya Plisetskaya, Rudolf Nureyev, and Mikhail Baryshnikov among others) and the Bolshoi Opera, presenting performances that define the highest achievements of Russian classical performing arts in a magnificent 1825 neoclassical building. The Bolshoi's extraordinary 200-year cultural legacy and its remarkable status as the symbol of Russian performing arts excellence create a showroom of singular global performing arts significance.

Teatralnaya Ploshchad 1, Moscow, 109012

Moscow, Moscow

The State Kremlin Palace (Kremlin Ballet Theatre) within the Moscow Kremlin's walls is the world's most historically charged performing arts showroom — a modernist glass and concrete building inserted into the 15th-century Moscow Kremlin complex in 1961 by Nikita Khrushchev as a Communist Party congress venue that has since become one of Russia's premier theatrical and ballet venues. The extraordinary privilege of attending a ballet performance within the walls of the Moscow Kremlin creates a showroom experience of singular Russian historical and cultural significance.

Kremlin, Moscow, 103073

Moscow, Moscow

Lenkom Theatre under the legendary direction of Mark Zakharov (1973-2019) was Moscow's most beloved and creatively vital dramatic theatre — a Tverskaya institution that consistently attracted the finest Russian actors (including Innokenty Smoktunovsky, Nikolai Karachentsov, and Oleg Yankovsky) and produced theatrical productions of remarkable popular appeal combined with genuine artistic quality. Lenkom's extraordinary combination of popular success and artistic ambition during the Soviet era (when it pushed creative boundaries while maintaining censors' approval) create a showroom of considerable Russian theatrical cultural significance.

ul. Malaya Dmitrovka 6, Moscow, 127006

Moscow, Moscow

Maly Theatre (Little Theatre) is Moscow's most venerable dramatic theatre — a 200-year-old institution opposite the Bolshoi Theatre that has been called the "House of Ostrovsky" (Alexander Ostrovsky, the founder of modern Russian drama, had all 47 of his plays premiered here). Maly Theatre's extraordinary role in establishing the canon of Russian dramatic literature and its remarkable continued commitment to classical Russian theatrical tradition create a showroom of considerable Russian cultural heritage significance.

Teatralnaya pl. 1/6, Moscow, 109012

Moscow, Moscow

Moscow Art Theatre (MKHAT, founded by Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko in 1898) is the most historically significant dramatic theatre in the world for its impact on global acting and theatrical methodology — the theatre where Chekhov's Four great plays (The Seagull, Three Sisters, Uncle Vanya, and The Cherry Orchard) were first successfully produced and where Stanislavski developed the acting system that transformed the way theatre is practiced throughout the world. The Moscow Art Theatre's extraordinary influence on global theatrical practice and its remarkable continued significance create a showroom of singular world theatrical heritage significance.

Kamergersky per. 3, Moscow, 125009

Moscow, Moscow

Taganka Theatre under Yuri Lyubimov (1964-1984) was the most politically important theatre in Soviet history — a Moscow institution that used theatrical form, movement, and allegory to create works of genuine dissidence within the Soviet system, making it the most attended and culturally significant theatre in the USSR and a gathering place for Soviet intellectuals and artists seeking an authentic voice. Vladimir Vysotsky, Russia's most beloved cultural figure of the 20th century, was Taganka's star performer, creating a theatre of extraordinary Russian cultural significance.

ul. Zemlyanoy Val 76, Moscow, 109004

Novosibirsk, Novosibirsk Oblast

Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre (NOVAT) is the largest opera house in Russia and one of the largest in the world — a colossal 1945 building constructed during World War II in Siberia (when Russia's greatest artistic institutions were evacuated east to escape the Nazi advance) that has since established itself as one of Russia's finest opera and ballet companies. NOVAT's extraordinary scale (it can accommodate sets larger than those at the Bolshoi), its remarkable Siberian cultural ambition, and its outstanding performing arts quality create a showroom of considerable Russian regional performing arts significance.

Krasny pr. 36, Novosibirsk, 630099

Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg

Alexandrinsky Theatre is Russia's oldest and most prestigious dramatic theatre — a magnificent 1832 neoclassical building by Carlo Rossi on the magnificent Ostrovsky Square where Chekhov's The Seagull received its disastrous world premiere in 1896 (booed off the stage) before becoming recognized as one of the greatest plays ever written. The Alexandrinsky's extraordinary 200-year dramatic tradition, its remarkable Rossi architectural perfection, and its ongoing world-class theatrical programming create a showroom of genuine Russian theatrical heritage significance.

pl. Ostrovskogo 2, Saint Petersburg, 191011

Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg

The Hermitage Theatre within the Winter Palace complex is the most historically exclusive performing arts showroom in Russia — an intimate 1787 neoclassical theatre designed by Giacomo Quarenghi for Catherine the Great that served as the private theatre of the Russian Imperial family, and where the greatest performing artists of the 18th and 19th centuries performed for the Tsars of Russia. The theatre's extraordinary Imperial heritage and its continued programming of chamber opera, ballet, and classical music performances create a showroom of singular Russian Imperial cultural significance.

Dvortsovaya nab. 34, Saint Petersburg, 190000

Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg

The Mariinsky Theatre under Valery Gergiev is one of the supreme performing arts showrooms in the world — the theatre where Tchaikovsky's greatest ballets received their world premieres, where Shostakovich's opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk was premiered before Stalin notoriously attended and condemned it, and where the finest Russian operatic and balletic tradition is preserved and transmitted. The Mariinsky's extraordinary tradition of world premieres and its remarkable role in shaping the global history of classical music and ballet create a showroom of singular world performing arts significance.

Teatralnaya pl. 1, Saint Petersburg, 190000