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The Mariinsky Theatre (Russian: Мариинский театр), also spelled Maryinsky Theatre {previously known as the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre (1860-circa 1920), the National Academy of Opera and Ballet (1920-1935), and the Kirov Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet named for Sergei Kirov (1935-1992)} is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in St Petersburg, Russia. Since Yuri Temirkanov's retirement in 1988, the world-famous conductor Valery Gergiev serves as its general director.

Buildings

The Imperial opera and ballet theatre in St 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 Kamenny Theatre (or the Bolshoi Theatre of Saint Petersburg), the structure was situated on Theatre Square. Both names were coined to distinguish it from the wooden Little Theatre: "Kamenny" is the Russian word for "stone" and "Bolshoi" is the Russian word for "big". In 1836, the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre was reconstructed to a design by Albert Cavos (son of Caterino Cavos, an opera composer).

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, 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 royal patroness, Empress Maria Alexandrovna.

As the sheer size of the new stage called for ever more spectacular and ever more extravagant productions, which eventually revolutionized the world of ballet, the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre appeared outdated and entered a period of artistic decline. It was finally demolished in the 1890s to make room for the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and the remaining troupe was transferred to the Mariinsky.

Read more at Wikipedia.org