Don Giovanni

Mariinsky Theatre, Mariinsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg, Russia

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Important Info

Type: Opera

City: Saint Petersburg, Russia

Starts at: 19:00

Acts: 2

Intervals: 1

Duration: 3h 25min

Sung in: Italian

Titles in: Russian,English

Ticket delivery: E-Tickets

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

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You can only select the category, and not the exact seats.
If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Cast

Performers

Orchestra: Mariinsky Orchestra

Conductor: Christian Knapp

Chorus: Mariinsky Chorus

Creators

Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Stage Director: Johannes Schaaf

Librettist: Lorenzo Da Ponte

Overview

Il dissoluto punito, ossia il Don Giovanni is the most talented opera in a trilogy by Mozart set to libretti by Lorenzo Da Ponte.

The history of its creation is surrounded by rumours and legends: it is said that the composition of the text was not achieved without the assistance of Casanova himself, that the overture was written on the night before the premiere and, according to one bon vivant tale in Da Ponte’s memoirs, composing the libretto was accompanied by either Tokaji or Marcimino wine – it is this wine that Don Giovanni asks to be served in the final scene. After eight months of such work the opera was presented at the Ständetheater (Estates Theatre) in Prague in October 1787, and since then it has never left the stage. Audiences are attracted not just by the witty story contained within, or the surprisingly lively music by Mozart and its brilliancy of inventiveness but also by the hero himself, with his powerful and dark charisma.
Don Giovanni, a Spanish grandee, is a passer-by, a glutton and a libertine who has no principles other than the ones he has declared for himself. He is a great deal cleverer and more cunning than his entourage and, in some sense, plays at being God, but – either by crossing a certain line or by some coincidence – he falls under the power of forces that are beyond his control. These have no obviously explicit effect on him, though from the moment of the murder of the Commendatore, Donna Anna’s father, which takes place at the very start of the opera, success eludes the hero. It wears away imperceptibly, like the fragrance of a perfume; of its former extent we are to learn from the aria of his manservant Leporello, which details a list of Don Giovanni’s conquests of beautiful women, “ladies of all classes, all types, and all ages” numbering a total of more than two thousand. In the wake of Donna Anna, not one of Don Giovanni’s seductions meets with success, though success does remain with him – its effect lies in the fact that the protagonist can easily extricate himself from any situation. Exchanging costumes with his servant, the masked ball, the deceit of an infuriated fiancé, flight from prosecutors – none of this leaves even the slightest trace of despair: quite the reverse, it is presented as the latest merry trick, and even when the statue of the Commendatore begins to speak in the graveyard where Don Giovanni and Leporello meet following their latest adventure this is not enough to make Don Giovanni downcast in spirit. He greets the unexpected arrival of the Commendatore for dinner insolently – and only at the final moment before death does he sense the fear and inevitability of punishment. The sextet which concludes the opera provides the necessary morality, in terms of artistic effect it cedes much to the scene with the Commendatore and even seems superfluous, but in the age of classicism it would have been unthinkable to leave an opera’s finale on such a menacing, almost funereal note.
Johannes Schaaf’s production is minimalist, executed in gloomy tones that create the background even in the lighter sections of the music, shading the influence of Fate. Large light spots, several textured items and elaborately worked costumes – all of this forms one of the best ways to free the opera of any lush historical trappings, creating together with the music a shared emotional backdrop of what is happening and focussing our attention on the characters’ interactions. Denis Velikzhanin

History

Premiere of this production: 29 October 1787, Estates Theatre, Prague

Don Giovanni (complete title: Il dissoluto punito, ossia il Don Giovanni, literally The Rake Punished, namely Don Giovanni or The Libertine Punished) is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It is based on the legends of Don Juan, a fictional libertine and seducer.

Synopsis

Act I
Leporello is waiting outside the Commendatore’s house for his master, Don Giovanni, who has slipped clandestinely into the bedroom of the Commendatore’s daughter, Donna Anna. Don Giovanni suddenly rushes out of the house, pursued by Donna Anna, who wants to know, no matter what, who her unexpected night-time visitor was. She unsuccessfully tries to tear off Don Giovanni’s mask. The Commendatore appears, having been woken up by the commotion, and challenges the uninvited guest to a duel. At first unwilling to accept the challenge, Don Giovanni all the same kills him and then escapes together with Leporello; Donna Anna and Don Ottavio, her fiancé who has appeared in time to help her, swear to take revenge on the unknown murderer.
Don Giovanni is daydreaming about further amorous adventures. In the faint light of dawn a beautiful stranger attracts his attention. As he approaches her he recognises Donna Elvira, his former love, whom he abandoned three days after their wedding. In an attempt to escape her tedious reproaches, he leaves Donna Elvira in the care of Leporello, who readily relates to her a list of his master’s amorous conquests.
Peasants are celebrating the wedding of Zerlina and Masetto. Zerlina immediately catches Don Giovanni’s eye. In an attempt to get her on her own, he orders Leporello to take all of those present to his castle. Zerlina’s bridegroom tries to resist but is forced to give in to Don Giovanni’s threats. Don Giovanni distracts Zerlina with tender words and promises. However, at the most inopportune moment, Donna Elvira appears, followed by Donna Anna and Don Ottavio. Don Giovanni declares Donna Elvira to be insane. Alone with Don Ottavio, Donna
Anna confesses that she recognised her seducer of the night in Don Giovanni. She appeals to her fiancé to seek revenge.
Leporello reports to Don Giovanni how he has dispatched everyone to the feast at the castle and how he managed to get rid of Donna Elvira. Zerlina tries to calm the furious Masetto. Don Giovanni finds he is unable to be alone with Zerlina and is thus forced to join in the festivities with the bride and groom. Donna Anna, Donna Elvira and Don Ottavio appear, their faces hidden by masks. On the orders of his master, Leporello invites the masked visitors to join in the feast, during which there are to be no social distinctions between those present. Don Giovanni invokes everyone to act with utter freedom. The appeal is readily taken up but each person interprets freedom in his own way. In the chaos of the ensuing celebratory tumult Don Giovanni draws Zerlina away from the hall. The party is suddenly interrupted by Zerlina’s screams for help. Don Giovanni, annoyed, blames his servant for what has happened. Don Ottavio, Donna Anna and Donna Elvira remove their masks and accuse the real villain. Don Giovanni is forced to flee.

Act II
Leporello wants to leave Don Giovanni´s service. However, the money which Don Giovanni offers him persuades him to change his mind. Even in moments of peril, the untiring libertine remains true to his ways. He thinks up the idea of seducing Donna Elvira´s maid. But in order to get to her, he has to distract her mistress, and so Don Giovanni and Leporello swap clothes. Donna Elvira takes Leporello for Don Giovanni. Not realising she is speaking to the servant and not the master, Donna Elvira forgives Don Giovanni for the hurt he has caused her. Don Giovanni meets some peasants who are looking for Zerlina´s seducer on Masetto´s command. Disguised as Leporello, he sends them off on a false trail. Left alone with Masetto, Don Giovanni cruelly beats up the simpleton and steals away. Zerlina arrives and tends to her bridegroom´s wounds and comforts him.
Leporello in vain tries to get away from Donna Elvira. Finding himself in a difficult situation, surrounded by pursuers who believe him to be Don Giovanni, he is forced into revealing his face. Donna Elvira is mortified to the bottom of her soul. Taking advantage of the general confusion, Leporello disappears. Don Ottavio is determined to hand over the Commendatore´s murderer for trial.
Donna Elvira, inextricably caught up in the fate of her unfaithful lover, begins to lose her reason.
Don Giovanni and Leporello, hiding from their pursuers, find themselves in the graveyard as night falls. Their discussion is unexpectedly interrupted by ominous comments from the statue of the Commendatore. Don Giovanni makes his servant invite the statue to dinner. Donna Anna finds a way of evading Don Ottavio´s advances. There is no longer any place for men in her heart.
At midnight, Don Giovanni has dinner served, and the Commendatore has been invited. Donna Elvira tries, for the last time, to appeal to Don Giovanni to lead a righteous life. However, he remains intransigent to the end. He fearlessly holds out his hand to the statue of the Commendatore, before which Leporello experiences insurmountable dread. Impenitent, Don Giovanni crashes down to Hell.
Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, Don Ottavio, Zerlina and Masetto arrive to deliver Don Giovanni for trial. Leporello announces the news that his master has plunged down to the underworld. Wishing to create a sensation, he describes in detail what he has not even seen because he was too scared to watch.

Don Giovanni, a young, arrogant, and sexually promiscuous nobleman, abuses and outrages everyone else in the cast until he encounters something he cannot kill, beat up, dodge, or outwit.

Act 1

The overture begins with a thundering D minor cadence, followed by a short misterioso sequence which leads into a light-hearted D major allegro.

Scene 1 – The garden of the Commendatore

Leporello, Don Giovanni's servant, grumbles about his demanding master and daydreams about being free of him ("Notte e giorno faticar" – "Night and day I slave away"). He is keeping watch while Don Giovanni is in the Commendatore's house attempting to seduce or rape the Commendatore's daughter, Donna Anna. Don Giovanni enters the garden from inside the house, pursued by Donna Anna. Don Giovanni is masked and Donna Anna tries to hold him and to unmask him, shouting for help. (Trio: "Non sperar, se non m'uccidi, Ch'io ti lasci fuggir mai!" – "Do not hope, unless you kill me, that I shall ever let you run away!"). He breaks free and she runs off as the Commendatore enters the garden. The Commendatore blocks Don Giovanni's path and forces him to fight a duel. Don Giovanni kills the Commendatore with his sword and escapes with Leporello. Donna Anna, returning with her fiancé, Don Ottavio, is horrified to see her father lying dead in a pool of his own blood. She makes Don Ottavio swear vengeance against the unknown murderer. (Duet: "Ah, vendicar, se il puoi, giura quel sangue ognor!" – "Ah, swear to avenge that blood if you can!")

Scene 2 – A public square outside Don Giovanni's palace

Leporello tells Don Giovanni that he (Giovanni) is leading a rotten life; Don Giovanni reacts angrily. They hear a woman (Donna Elvira) singing of having been abandoned by her lover, on whom she is seeking revenge ("Ah, chi mi dice mai" – "Ah, who could ever tell me"). Don Giovanni starts to flirt with her, but it turns out he is the former lover she is seeking. The two recognize each other and she reproaches him bitterly. He shoves Leporello forward, ordering him to tell Donna Elvira the truth about him, and then hurries away.

Leporello tells Donna Elvira that Don Giovanni is not worth her feelings for him. He is unfaithful to everyone; his conquests include 640 women and girls in Italy, 231 in Germany, 100 in France, 91 in Turkey, but in Spain, 1,003 ("Madamina, il catalogo è questo" – "My dear lady, this is the catalogue"). In a frequently cut recitative, Donna Elvira vows vengeance.

Scene 3 – The open country

A marriage procession with Masetto and Zerlina enters. Don Giovanni and Leporello arrive soon after. Don Giovanni is immediately attracted to Zerlina, and he attempts to remove the jealous Masetto by offering to host a wedding celebration at his castle. On realizing that Don Giovanni means to remain behind with Zerlina, Masetto becomes angry ("Ho capito! Signor, sì" – "I understand! Yes, my lord!") but is forced to leave. Don Giovanni and Zerlina are soon alone and he immediately begins his seductive arts (Duet: "Là ci darem la mano" – "There we will entwine our hands").

Donna Elvira arrives and thwarts the seduction ("Ah, fuggi il traditor" – "Flee from the traitor!"). She leaves with Zerlina. Don Ottavio and Donna Anna enter, plotting vengeance on the still unknown murderer of Donna Anna's father. Donna Anna, unaware that she is speaking to her attacker, pleads for Don Giovanni's help. Don Giovanni, relieved that he is unrecognised, readily promises it, and asks who has disturbed her peace. Before she can answer, Donna Elvira returns and tells Donna Anna and Don Ottavio that Don Giovanni is a false-hearted seducer. Don Giovanni tries to convince Don Ottavio and Donna Anna that Donna Elvira is insane (Quartet: "Non ti fidar, o misera" – "Don't trust him, oh sad one"). As Don Giovanni leaves, Donna Anna suddenly recognizes him as her father's murderer and tells Don Ottavio the story of his intrusion, claiming that she was deceived at first because she was expecting a night visit from Don Ottavio himself, but managed to fight Don Giovanni off after discovering the imposture (long recitative exchange between Donna Anna and Don Ottavio). She repeats her demand that he avenge her and points out that he will be avenging himself as well (aria: "Or sai chi l'onore Rapire a me volse" – "Now you know who wanted to rob me of my honour"). In the Vienna version, Don Ottavio, not yet convinced (Donna Anna having only recognised Don Giovanni's voice, not seen his face), resolves to keep an eye on his friend ("Dalla sua pace la mia dipende" – "On her peace my peace depends").

Leporello informs Don Giovanni that all the guests of the peasant wedding are in Don Giovanni's house and that he distracted Masetto from his jealousy, but that Zerlina, returning with Donna Elvira, made a scene and spoiled everything. However, Don Giovanni remains cheerful and tells Leporello to organize a party and invite every girl he can find. (Don Giovanni's "Champagne Aria": "Fin ch'han dal vino calda la testa" – "Till they are tipsy"). They hasten to his palace.

Scene 4 – A garden outside Don Giovanni's palace

Zerlina follows the jealous Masetto and tries to pacify him ("Batti, batti o bel Masetto" – "Beat, O beat me, handsome Masetto"), but just as she manages to persuade him of her innocence, Don Giovanni's voice from offstage startles and frightens her. Masetto hides, resolving to see for himself what Zerlina will do when Don Giovanni arrives. Zerlina tries to hide from Don Giovanni, but he finds her and attempts to continue the seduction, until he stumbles upon Masetto's hiding place. Confused but quickly recovering, Don Giovanni reproaches Masetto for leaving Zerlina alone, and returns her temporarily to him. Don Giovanni then leads both offstage to his ballroom. Three masked guests – the disguised Don Ottavio, Donna Anna, and Donna Elvira – enter the garden. From a balcony, Leporello invites them to his master's party. They accept the invitation and Leporello leaves the balcony. Alone, Don Ottavio and Donna Anna pray for protection, Donna Elvira for vengeance (Trio: "Protegga il giusto cielo" – "May the just heavens protect us").

Scene 5 – Don Giovanni's ballroom

As the merriment, featuring three separate chamber orchestras on stage, proceeds, Leporello distracts Masetto by dancing with him, while Don Giovanni leads Zerlina offstage to a private room and tries to assault her. When Zerlina screams for help, Don Giovanni drags Leporello onstage from the room, accuses Leporello of assaulting Zerlina himself, and threatens to kill him. The others are not fooled. Don Ottavio produces a pistol and points it at Don Giovanni, and the three guests unmask and declare that they know all. But despite being denounced and menaced from all sides, Don Giovanni remains calm and escapes – for the moment.

Act 2
Scene 1 – Outside Donna Elvira's house

Leporello threatens to leave Don Giovanni, but his master calms him with a peace offering of money (Duet: "Eh via buffone" – "Go on, fool"). Wanting to seduce Donna Elvira's maid, and believing that she will trust him better if he appears in lower-class clothes, Don Giovanni orders Leporello to exchange cloak and hat with him. Donna Elvira comes to her window (Trio: "Ah taci, ingiusto core" – "Ah, be quiet unjust heart"). Seeing an opportunity for a game, Don Giovanni hides and sends Leporello out in the open wearing Don Giovanni's cloak and hat. From his hiding place Don Giovanni sings a promise of repentance, expressing a desire to return to her and threatening to kill himself if she does not take him back, while Leporello poses as Don Giovanni and tries to keep from laughing. Donna Elvira is convinced and descends to the street. Leporello, continuing to pose as Don Giovanni, leads her away to keep her occupied while Don Giovanni serenades her maid with his mandolin. ("Deh, vieni alla finestra" – "Ah, come to the window").

Before Don Giovanni can complete his seduction of the maid, Masetto and his friends arrive, looking for Don Giovanni in order to kill him. Don Giovanni poses as Leporello (whose clothes he is still wearing) and joins the posse, pretending that he also hates Don Giovanni. After cunningly dispersing Masetto's friends (Don Giovanni aria: "Metà di voi qua vadano" – "Half of you go this way. the others, go that way"), Don Giovanni takes Masetto's weapons away, beats him up, and runs off, laughing. Zerlina arrives and consoles the bruised and battered Masetto ("Vedrai carino" – "You'll see, dear one").

Scene 2 – A dark courtyard

Leporello abandons Donna Elvira. (Sextet: "Sola, sola in buio loco" – "All alone in this dark place"). As he tries to escape, he bumps into Don Ottavio and Donna Anna. Zerlina and Masetto also enter the scene. Everyone mistakes Leporello for Don Giovanni, whose clothes he is still wearing. They surround Leporello and threaten to kill him. Donna Elvira tries to protect the man who she thinks is Don Giovanni, claiming that he is her husband and begging the others to spare him. Leporello takes off Don Giovanni's cloak and reveals his true identity. He begs for mercy and, seeing an opportunity, runs off (Leporello aria: "Ah pietà signori miei" – "Ah, have mercy, my lords"). Don Ottavio is now convinced that Don Giovanni is the one who murdered Donna Anna's father (the deceased Commendatore). He swears vengeance ("Il mio tesoro" – "My treasure" – though in the Vienna version this was cut).

In the Vienna production of the opera, Zerlina follows Leporello and recaptures him. Threatening him with a razor, she ties him to a stool. He attempts to sweet-talk her out of hurting him. (Duet: "Per queste tue manine" – "For these hands of yours"). Zerlina goes to find Masetto and the others; Leporello escapes again before she returns. This scene, marked by low comedy, is rarely performed today. Also in the Vienna production, Donna Elvira is still furious at Don Giovanni for betraying her, but she also feels sorry for him. ("Mi tradì quell'alma ingrata" – "That ungrateful wretch betrayed me").

Scene 3 – A graveyard with the statue of the Commendatore.

Don Giovanni wanders into a graveyard. Leporello happens along and the two are reunited. Leporello tells Don Giovanni of his brush with danger, and Don Giovanni laughingly taunts him, saying that he took advantage of his disguise as Leporello by trying to seduce one of Leporello's girlfriends. The voice of the statue interrupts and warns Don Giovanni that his laughter will not last beyond sunrise. At the command of his master, Leporello reads the inscription upon the statue's base: "Here am I waiting for revenge against the scoundrel who killed me" ("Dell'empio che mi trasse al passo estremo qui attendo la vendetta"). The servant trembles, but Don Giovanni scornfully orders him to invite the statue to dinner, and threatens to kill him if he does not. Leporello makes several attempts to invite the statue to dinner but is too frightened to complete the invitation (Duet: "O, statua gentilissima" – "Oh most noble statue"). Don Giovanni invites the statue to dinner himself. Much to his surprise, the statue nods its head and responds affirmatively.

Scene 4 – Donna Anna's room

Don Ottavio pressures Donna Anna to marry him, but she thinks it is inappropriate so soon after her father's death. He accuses her of being cruel, and she assures him that she loves him, and is faithful ("Non mi dir" – "Tell me not").

Scene 5 – Don Giovanni's chambers

Don Giovanni revels in the luxury of a great meal, served by Leporello, and musical entertainment during which the orchestra plays music from popular (at the time) late-18th-century operas: "O quanto un sì bel giubilo" from Vicente Martín y Soler's Una cosa rara (1786), "Come un agnello" from Giuseppe Sarti's Fra i due litiganti il terzo gode (1782) and finally, "Non più andrai" from Mozart's own The Marriage of Figaro (1786). Leporello complains that he is sick and tired of hearing Mozart's aria everywhere all the time.[28] (Finale "Già la mensa preparata" – "Already the table is prepared"). Donna Elvira enters, saying that she no longer feels resentment against Don Giovanni, only pity for him. ("L'ultima prova dell'amor mio" – "The final proof of my love"). Don Giovanni, surprised, asks what she wants, and she begs him to change his life. Don Giovanni taunts her and then turns away, praising wine and women as the "support and glory of humankind" ("sostegno e gloria d'umanità"). Hurt and angry, Donna Elvira gives up and leaves. Offstage, she screams in sudden terror. Don Giovanni orders Leporello to see what has upset her; when he does, he also cries out, and runs back into the room, stammering that the statue has appeared as promised. An ominous knocking sounds at the door. Leporello, paralyzed by fear, cannot answer it, so Don Giovanni opens it himself, revealing the statue of the Commendatore. With the rhythmic chords of the overture, now reharmonized with diabolic diminished sevenths accompanying the Commendatore ("Don Giovanni! A cenar teco m'invitasti" – "Don Giovanni! You invited me to dine with you"), the statue offers a last chance to repent, but Don Giovanni adamantly refuses. The statue disappears and Don Giovanni cries out in pain and terror as he is surrounded by a chorus of demons, who carry him down to Hell. Leporello, watching from under the table, also cries out in fear.

Donna Anna, Don Ottavio, Donna Elvira, Zerlina, and Masetto arrive, searching for the villain. They find instead Leporello hiding under the table, shaken by the supernatural horror he has witnessed. He assures them that no one will ever see Don Giovanni again. The remaining characters announce their plans for the future: Donna Anna and Don Ottavio will marry when Donna Anna's year of mourning is over; Donna Elvira will withdraw from society for the rest of her life; Zerlina and Masetto will finally go home for dinner; and Leporello will go to the tavern to find a better master.

The concluding ensemble delivers the moral of the opera – "Such is the end of the evildoer: the death of a sinner always reflects his life" ("Questo è il fin di chi fa mal, e de' perfidi la morte alla vita è sempre ugual"). As mentioned above, the final ensemble was customarily omitted from productions for over a century beginning with the original run in Prague, but it started to be performed again frequently in the 20th century and is now is usually included in productions of the opera. The return to D major and the innocent simplicity of the last few bars conclude the opera.

Venue Info

Mariinsky Theatre - Saint Petersburg
1 Theatre Square

The Mariinsky Theatre is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. Through most of the Soviet era, it was known as the Kirov Theatre. Today, the Mariinsky Theatre is home to the Mariinsky Ballet, Mariinsky Opera and Mariinsky Orchestra. Since Yuri Temirkanov's retirement in 1988, the conductor Valery Gergiev has served as the theatre's general director.

The theatre is named after Empress Maria Alexandrovna, wife of Tsar Alexander II. There is a bust of the Empress in the main entrance foyer. The theatre's name has changed throughout its history, reflecting the political climate of the time.

The theatre building is commonly called the Mariinsky Theatre. The companies that operate within it have for brand recognition purposes retained the Kirov name, acquired during the Soviet era to commemorate the assassinated Leningrad Communist Party leader Sergey Kirov (1886–1934).

The Imperial drama, opera and ballet troupe in Saint Petersburg was established in 1783, at the behest of Catherine the Great, although an Italian ballet troupe had performed at the Russian court since the early 18th century. Originally, the ballet and opera performances were given in the wooden Karl Knipper Theatre on Tsaritsa Meadow, near the present-day Tripartite Bridge (also known as the Little Theatre or the Maly Theatre). The Hermitage Theatre, next door to the Winter Palace, was used to host performances for an elite audience of aristocratic guests invited by the Empress.

A permanent theatre building for the new company of opera and ballet artists was designed by Antonio Rinaldi and opened in 1783. Known as the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre the structure was situated on Carousel Square, which was renamed Theatre Square in honour of the building. Both names – "Kamenny" (Russian word for "stone") and "Bolshoi" (Russian word for "big") – were coined to distinguish it from the wooden Little Theatre. In 1836, the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre was renovated to a design by Albert Cavos (son of Catterino Cavos, an opera composer), and served as the principal theatre of the Imperial Ballet and opera.

On 29 January 1849, the Equestrian circus (Конный цирк) opened on Theatre Square. This was also the work of the architect Cavos. The building was designed to double as a theatre. It was a wooden structure in the then-fashionable neo-Byzantine style. Ten years later, when this circus burnt down, Albert Cavos rebuilt it as an opera and ballet house with the largest stage in the world. With a seating capacity of 1,625 and a U-shaped Italian-style auditorium, the theatre opened on 2 October 1860, with a performance of A Life for the Tsar. The new theatre was named Mariinsky after its imperial patroness, Empress Maria Alexandrovna.

Under Yuri Temirkanov, Principal Conductor from 1976 to 1988, the Opera Company continued to stage innovative productions of both modern and classic Russian operas. Although functioning separately from the Theatre’s Ballet Company, since 1988 both companies have been under the artistic leadership of Valery Gergiev as Artistic Director of the entire Theatre.

The Opera Company has entered a new era of artistic excellence and creativity. Since 1993, Gergiev’s impact on opera there has been enormous. Firstly, he reorganized the company’s operations and established links with many of the world's great opera houses, including the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera, the Opéra Bastille, La Scala, La Fenice, the Israeli Opera, the Washington National Opera and the San Francisco Opera. Today, the Opera Company regularly tours to most of these cities.

Gergiev has also been innovative as far as Russian opera is concerned: in 1989, there was an all-Mussorgsky festival featuring the composer’s entire operatic output. Similarly, many of Prokofiev’s operas were presented from the late 1990s. Operas by non-Russian composers began to be performed in their original languages, which helped the Opera Company to incorporate world trends. The annual international "Stars of the White Nights Festival" in Saint Petersburg, started by Gergiev in 1993, has also put the Mariinsky on the world’s cultural map. That year, as a salute to the imperial origins of the Mariinsky, Verdi's La forza del destino, which received its premiere in Saint Petersburg in 1862, was produced with its original sets, costumes and scenery. Since then, it has become a characteristic of the "White Nights Festival" to present the premieres from the company’s upcoming season during this magical period, when the hours of darkness practically disappear as the summer solstice approaches.

Presently, the Company lists on its roster 22 sopranos (of whom Anna Netrebko may be the best known); 13 mezzo-sopranos (with Olga Borodina familiar to US and European audiences); 23 tenors; eight baritones; and 14 basses. With Gergiev in charge overall, there is a Head of Stage Administration, a Stage Director, Stage Managers and Assistants, along with 14 accompanists.