Over the past Mariinsky presents a combination of the theatre's most famous historical productions, such as Boris Godunov, Khovanshchina, Ruslan and Liudmila, Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty, along with the new season premieres. This being the year 2001, in a tribute to Giuseppe Verdi, they will present three Verdi premieres (Un Ballo in Maschera, Macbeth, and Traviata). Other opera premieres include The Tales of Hoffman, La Boheme and Die Walkure. Placido Domingo will be returning to St. Petersburg. He will sing the role of Siegmund in Die Walkure and conduct Aida as well. Yuri Bashmet, world famous violist and conductor of the Moscow Soloist will make his debut at the Mariinsky Theatre as conductor of a concert performance of Rossini's Il Viaggio a Reims.

Ballet premieres include a new adaptation of the world famous ballet the Nutcracker by the renowned artist Mikhail Chemiakin and the young choreographer Kirill Simonov, new works by John Neumeier, Mauro Begonzetti as well as a revival of Shostakovitch's 7th Symphony by Igor Belsky.

This year's festival will also emphasize contemporary and "unknown music". It will present the world premiere of the opera Tsar Demyan, one opera composed by five Russian composers; the St. John's Passion by Sofia Gubaidulina and the St. Matthew's Passion by the New York composer Tan Dun.

Other "news" of the forthcoming festival: the introduction of a new cycle - the Mariinsky Treasures. This year's "Treasures" include two operas by 18th century Italian composers who then residing in St Petersburg - Francesco Araya's Tsefal i Prokris (1755), Domenico Cimarosa's Cleopatra (1789). These works had been commissioned by the Imperial Court and have never been performed outside Russia or even St. Petersburg.

News source: Официальный сайт фестиваля "Звезды Белых Ночей"
Print this news