Shows in 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.

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.

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.