|
Theatre today
In 2001, the Mikhailovsky Theatre got its original name back. Year 2007 witnessed the revival of the Mikhailovsky Theatre; its magnificence came back to Arts Square. Nowadays, the Theatre both keeps traditions and introduces innovations.
General Director of the Theatre Vladimir Kekhman initiated and sponsored the repair works in the building. Under Vladimir Kekhman a constellation of famous artists appeared in the theatre: Elena Obraztsova became the head of the Mikhailovsky Opera, Farukh Ruzimatov took the lead of the Mikhailovsky Ballet Company.
In May 2009, Mikhail Messerer, the outstanding ballet repetiteur, took up the position of Ballet Mater in Chief. Since 1 December 2011 he has been appointed Principal Guest Ballet Master.
In June 2009, the Mikhailovsky Theatre started its cooperation with Peter Feranec who in 2009-2011 was holding the position of Musical Director and Principal Conductor of the Theatre.
On 1 January 2011 the new Artistic Director of the Mikhailovsky Ballet, the famous Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato took the lead of the company.
Nowadays Farukh Ruzimatov and Elena Obraztsova continue their cooperation with the Mikhailovsky Theatre as Artistic Advisors to General Director of the Mikhailovsky Theatre.
Famous ballet répétiteurs such as Nikita Dolgushin, Alla Osipenko, Evgeny Popov, and Svetlana Efremova among many others are responsible for the quality of the current repertoire.
Leading ballet masters of Europe and America such as Natalia Makarova, Jennifer Goubé, Gilbert Mayer, and Cyril Atanasoff hold master classes at the theatre.
The priorities of the repertoire policy of the Mikhailovsky Theatre are classical masterpieces of Russian and European musical theatre. The Mikhailovsky Theatre maintains the policy of introducing the public to the major opera and ballet works of the 19th and 20th century. Special attention is paid to expanding children repertoire.
During the season the Mikhailovsky Theatre presented three ballet premieres — a romantic story Giselle, ou Les Wilis, a fairy tale for children Cipollino and a heroic epos Spartacus — and two opera premieres — Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni and L’elisir d’amore by Gaetano Donizetti. The stage of the theatre witnessed the performances of Elena Obraztsova, Roberto Alagna, Paco de Lucía, and Renée Fleming. The theatre also hosted the companies of the Moscow State Chamber Choir conducted by Vladimir Minin and the Ballet Company of the Moscow Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre.
The Mikhailovsky Theatre for the first time participated in the Arts Square Festival and the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.
The Mikhailovsky Opera Company toured in Japan and presented its two premieres in Moscow at the Bolshoi Theatre and at the Moscow Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre. The Mikhailovsky Ballet Company had its first London season at the Coliseum and was nominated for the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards in two categories: Best Foreign Dance Company 2008 and Best Male Dancer 2008 (Denis Matvyenko).
On October 30, 2008, the Mikhailovsky Theatre witnessed come back of the ballet Romeo and Juliet by Oleg Vinogradov. In November 2008, at La Fenice in Venice the Theatre presented its version of Giselle by Nikita Dolgushin that had become a European sensation after its London debut.
On November 8, the Mikhailovsky Theatre celebrated its 175th anniversary. On November 8, 2008 Nikita Dolgushin turned 70 years and the Mikhailovsky Theatre started the celebration of its 175th jubilee with a ballet evening, devoted to the great personality. Principal dancers of the Bolshoi, Mariinsky and Mikhailovsky Theatres congratulated the famous dancer and teacher and performed extracts from the ballets that became landmarks of Dolgushin’s career. It was for Nikita Dolgushin that Farukh Ruzimatov performed the part of the Moor in the second ballet premiere of the season — The Moor’s Pavane by José Limón.
On November 14, a jubilee gala performance took place both on Arts Square and in the theatre. Especially for the jubilee famous Russian film director Sergey Debizhev with his crew shot a film about the Mikhailovsky Theatre, which was presented during the gala performance. On November 15, a gala performance of the famous Argentinean tenor José Cura took place. A gala performance of Farukh Ruzimatov featuring ballets The Moor’s Pavane and Carmen became the final accord of the jubilee performances.
On November 27, Russian premiere of the staging of Pagliacci by Liliana Cavani took place.On March 13, 2009 the Mikhailovsky Theatre presented the version of the ballet Le Corsaire by Farukh Ruzimatov.
On September 15, 2009 the Mikhailovsky opened its 177th season with the premiere of the ballet Swan Lake staged by Alexander Gorsky and Asaf Messerer. The author of the revival is the Ballet Master in Chief of the Mikhailovsky Theatre Mikhail Messerer.
In October 2009, Farukh Ruzimatov, who held post of Artistic Director of the Mikhailovsky Ballet from May 2007, disclosed his decision to continue his dancing career as a performer and became Artistic Advisor to General Director of the Mikhailovsky Theatre.
On October 21 and 24, the theatre hosted the concerts of the Grand Prix of the Mikhailovsky Theatre. Young students of the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St Petersburg, Moscow Ballet Academy and Novosibirsk Ballet School demonstrated the results of their and their tutors’ labour.
On October 30, there was presented the first opera premiere of the season — Rusalka by Antonín Dvořák staged by Igor Konyayev.
On February 19, 2010, the Mikhailovsky Theatre presented La Juive by Fromental Halévy staged by Arnaud Bernard.
On June 5, 2010, the Mikhailovsky Ballet Company celebrated the centenary of the birth of Vakhtang Chabukiani by reviving his legendary ballet Laurencia produced by Mikhail Messerer.
The Mikhailovsky Theatre closed its 177th season with an opera premiere —
a new production of Un ballo in maschera (A Masked Ball) by Giuseppe Verdi.Andrejs Zagars, a Latvian stage director, in cooperation with set designer Andris Freibergs and costume designer Kristine Pasternaka staged a new production of the opera at the Mikhailovsky Theatre. The public of St Petersburg has got a stylish and exciting piece which is a showcase for the best soloists of the Mikhailovsky Opera.
The Mikhailovsky Theatre opened its 178th season with the two
latest premieres — ballet Laurencia and opera Un ballo in maschera.
On 15 September 2010 the luxurious theatre masterpiece of Stalin’s classicism — Chabukiani’s ballet Laurencia revived to celebrate the centenary from the birth of the great choreographer. On 16 September 2010 the opera season was opened by the new production of Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera staged by Andrejs Ћagars.
On 16 December 2010 the opera Kát’a Kabanová by Leoš Janáček (staging by Niels-Peter Rudolph) was premièred at the Mikhailovsky Theatre.
The first work by Nacho Duato for the Mikhailovsky Ballet Company, one-act ballet Nunc Dimittis, received its world première on 15 March 2011. This new creation was presented together with the Russian premières of two earlier one-act ballets by Nacho Duato, Without Words and Duende.
On 11 May the opera troupe appeared in its final premiere of the season, Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème, staged by French director Arnaud Bernard, who acted as director, production designer, and lighting designer. Critics have praised every aspect of the performance, which undoubtedly speaks for the project’s integrity and its highly professional execution.
On 14 June 2011 a new ballet by Nacho Duato Prelude received its world première. The choreographer has demonstrated that the difference between classical and contemporary dance is much less than is normally considered.
On 29 July 2011 the Mikhailovsky Theatre closed its season with Swan Lake featuring Irina Perren and Leonid Sarafanov.
The Mikhailovsky opened its 179th season on 19 September 2011 with a Nacho Duato’s Triple Bill: Without Words, Duende, and Prelude.
On 16 December 2011 The Sleeping Beauty by Nacho Duato was premièred at the Mikhailovsky Theatre.
Mikhail Tatarnikov took up his post of Mikhailovsky Theatre’s Musical Director and Principal Conductor on 1 January 2012.
On 21 March 2012, on the birthday of J.S. Bach, the renowned ballet by Nacho Duato Multiplicity. Forms of Silence and Emptiness was given its :Russian premiere at the Mikhailovsky Theatre.
On 9 and 10 July 2012 the Mikhailovsky Theatre celebrated the anniversary of Sergey Slonimsky with the concerts featuring his Symphony 32, Act 1 of the opera The Master and Margarita, and the works of the composer’s alumni. Music Director of the project — Vladimir Jurowski.
The Mikhailovsky Theatre continued its cooperation with conductor Vasily Petrenko. In July 2012, concert performance of the opera Carmen under his baton was presented to great critical acclaim. On 18 July 2012, Vasily Petrenko became principal guest conductor of the Mikhailovsky Theatre.
On 27 July 2012 the Mikhailovsky closed its 179th season with the ballet Don Quixote starring Ivan Vasiliev and Oksana Bondareva.
180th season
On 13 September 2012 the Mikhailovsky Theatre opened its anniversary season with the ballet Giselle, ou Les Wilis starring two new guest principals — Polina Semonova and Marcelo Gomes.
On 14 October 2012 the Theatre resumed the tradition of symphonic concerts: the Mikhailovsky Chorus and Orchestra under the baton of Mikhail Tatarnikov performed works by Dvořák, Taneyev, and Rachmaninov.
On 26 October the first première of the season took place at the Mikhailovsky Theatre: Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin staged by Andriy Zholdak, Music Director of the production — Mikhail Tatarnikov.
On 2-3 November the Kings of the Dance — Ivan Vasiliev, Leonid Sarafanov, Denis Matvienko, Guillaume Côté, and Marcelo Gomes — for the third time became the guests of the Mikhailovsky Theatre.
On 6-9 November the Mikhailovsky Theatre hosted the Hamburg Ballet and its Intendant John Neumeier. On 6 and 7 November they presented Lady of the Camellias, on 9 November principals of the major world theatres performed pieces of Neumeier’s ballets in the Neumeier Without Borders gala. The three performances took place in the framework of the Diaghilev P.S. International Art Festival.
On 21-22 November the Mikhailovsky Grand Prix for the fourth time gathered the students of the major ballet school from Russia and Moldova.
On 13 December the Mikhailovsky Ballet presented their first première of the season — Nacho Duato’s version of the famous Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet.
The year 2013 marks the centenary of Benjamin Britten’s birth, which is being celebrated by the music community the world over. On 24, 25, and 26 January, the Mikhailovsky Theatre staged the opera Billy Budd — one of the composer’s most important and unconventional works. This was the first time the opera appeared on the stage in Russia.
On 23 May 2013 Na Floresta and Invisible, two more pieces by Nacho Duato, were premiered. The ballet Invisible set to music by Andrzej Panufnik is a world premiere, the ballet Na Floresta to music by Heitor Villa-Lobos and Wagner Tisso has been already performed at the Mikhailovsky Theatre — by the Moscow Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Ballet Company and by the students of the Vaganova Ballet Academy. Now the ballet is included in the repertory of the Mikhailovsky Theatre. |
