The theater announced last week that it will premier four operas this season, starting with the intense power and sorrow of Tchaikovsky's "Mazeppa" in May and ending with the Verdi's majestic interpretation of "Otello."
Bizet's "Carmen" and Prokofyev's "The Player" (Igrok) round out the theater's new operatic offerings for 1996.
Olga Borodina will sing the lead role in "Carmen." The premier of this work was originally planned for last fall, but a lack of funds forced the theater to postpone Bizet's tale of love gone wrong until this year.
"The Player" will be shown for the first time to the St Petersburg public after acclaimed performances at Milan's La Scala Theater and Paris' Champs Elysee in January.
Valery Gergiyev, artistic director of the Mariinsky opera troupe is poised to stage one of the most interesting experiments in the history of the national opera.
On the morning and evening of one day, the Mariinsky will put on Shostakovich's "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk Uyezd (district)" and "Katerina Izmailova" -- two versions of the same plot. No date has yet been scheduled for this ambitious project.
Along with premieres from its own troupe, the Mariinsky will offer enthusiasts foreign guests as well.
On May 1 the world famous Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra will grace the Mariinsky's stage. The Berlin Philharmonic will give a rendition of one of the biggest musical events of the 20th century -- the Sixth Europe Concert -- conducted by outstanding contemporary baton-wielder Claudio Abbado.
The concert will include excerpts from Prokofyev's Number 1 and 2 suites from "Romeo and Juliet," Beethoven's seventh symphony and Romances for Violin and Orchestra (No 1 and 2), plus works from Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky.
The previous five Europe Concerts were staged in Madrid's Escurial, London's Royal Albert Hall, the Smetana Hall in Prague, the Meiningen Theater and Florence's Salone di Cinquecento.
The concert will be broadcast by TV corporations throughout the whole world except Russia. According to Mr Gergiyev, Russian television will not carry a live broadcast because of the time -- it will take place at 1 pm.
Mr Gergiyev added that the Mariinsky plans concerts by Gidon Kremer, the Dutch Brass Orchestra, plus Hector Berlioz' "Romeo and Juliet" performed by the Mariinsky Opera Orchestra. (SPP)