The Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg isn’t just a theatre.

It’s an entire complex made up of three separate buildings: the historic Mariinsky Theatre, the Second Stage, and the Concert Hall. Together they house as many as nine performing spaces.

On 27 December, I put myself through a bit of a self-imposed marathon.

At two in the afternoon, I started at the Concert Hall with a piano festival concert. Xenia Bashmet, daughter of Yuri, was at the piano, with Fyodor Khandrikov conducting the Mariinsky Orchestra in the music by Bach, Haydn, Britten, Tchaikovsky and Joaquín Turina whose Rapsodia sinfónica was such a joy to discover.

After that, I headed over to the Second Stage for Siegfried, conducted by Valery Gergiev, third night of the Ring cycle. The re-imagined production was premiered at the Shanghai Grand Theatre in October 2023. This was the first time it was staged at Mariinsky in consecutive nights. Fyodor Khandrikov, who conducted the matinee, was on the timpani. Mikhail Vekua sang the invincible title role quite formidably.

By the time it all wrapped up, it was nearly 11:30 at night.

Honestly, it felt less like a day out and more like a full-on musical pilgrimage.

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