12 Best Performing Arts in St. Petersburg, Russia

Psychological drama reigns here. Most of the ballets in the repertoire of this internationally acclaimed troupe—one of the only professional contemporary ballet company in St. Petersburg—have been inspired by the biographies of extraordinary Russians with a tragic fate or are based on Russian literature. A must-see is Red Giselle, which tells the story of the great Russian ballerina Olga Spessivtseva, who fled Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution and spent 20 years in a psychiatric ward in New York. Also highly recommended are Anna Karenina, Tchaikovsky, and The Russian Hamlet, devoted to the doomed life of Russian tsar Paul I, who was murdered in Mikhailovsky Castle. The troupe, founded in the late 1970s, has no permanent home, and spends most of its time abroad. When here, the company usually performs at the Alexandrinsky Theater, the Mariinsky, or the Mikhailovsky Theater.

Cultural Heritage Preservation Board. If you buy any artwork in St. Petersburg, ask the shop to provide you with the necessary documentation to let you take it out of the country. If you're in any doubt, take the item to the Board for the Preservation of Cultural Valuables for assessment and to receive the relevant certificate. Prices depend on the item and how quickly you need the paperwork to be processed (usually three days) but are generally less than 1000R. 17 ul. Malaya Morskaya, City Center, St. Petersburg, St.-Petersburg, 190000. 812/571–0302. Metro: Admiralteyskay.

International soloists and ensembles gather for the festival, usually held late September through early October.

With 2,000 works by nearly 150 Russian artists on display, this mammoth five-floor complex is the country's largest contemporary art exhibition space. Conceived by Marina Varvarina, the widow of a powerful local businessman, Erarta is packed with art works dating from the 1940s to the present day. The gallery has a team of enthusiastic curators who busily tour the country for up-and-coming talent. The place always has the name of an exciting new artist up its sleeve. In addition to the halls, where regular exhibitions are held, there is a gallery where artworks are sold.

Another attractive event is the Musical Olympus festival organized by acclaimed Russian pianist Irina Nikitina at the Philharmonic in May and June. The festival assembles winners and laureates of each year's most respected musical contests from all over the globe. Each musician is handpicked by Nikitina herself or members of the festival's honorary committee. The audiences often get to see rising talents immediately after they've claimed the fame but haven't yet been booked for years to come.

The Palaces of St. Petersburg festival presents an impressive series of classical concerts in more than two dozen magnificent palaces and mansions year-round. In the heyday of Imperial Russia, the social season, with its grand balls, masquerades, and concerts, occurred in winter. During the stuffy summers the pillars of high society escaped the heat and dust of the city by heading to their country estates. A century later, St. Petersburg is trying to restore the glories of the past—minus the serfs.

Every year in July, the Peter and Paul Fortress hosts three days of performances of bands from Russia and beyond.

Russian Horn Capella. The ensemble revives the traditions of 18th-century Russian horn music, and is the only one of its kind in Russia. Apart from baroque pieces written specifically for horn, the musicians perform a repertoire of arrangements of well-known classical works. St. Petersburg, St.-Petersburg. www.horncapella.ru.

St. Petersburg Male Choir. This marvelous choir led by artistic director Vadim Afanasiev, is a must-see. Their favorite venues are the Capella and Petropavlovsky Cathedral in Peter and Paul Fortress, where the choir performs Orthodox chants and choral works by Russian composers. The sound can be mesmerizing. St. Petersburg, St.-Petersburg. www.malechoir.cpa-sr.com.

St. Petersburg's premier arts event stretches from the end of May until the middle of July or longer. The event's founder and driving force is the Mariinsky's indefatigable artistic director Valery Gergiev, who brings together a lineup of international stars and orchestras that other Russian festivals can only dream of inviting. It helps that Gergiev, a principal guest conductor with the London Symphony Orchestra, is a regular with the world's most acclaimed orchestras. The festival interweaves opera, ballet, symphony, and chamber music in almost equal proportions and provides a rare opportunity to see the Mariinsky's most renowned soloists—who spend most of their time between La Scala, Opera Bastille, and the Met and include mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina, tenor Vladimir Galuzin, bass Ildar Abdrazakov, baritone Nikolai Putilin, and soprano Anna Netrebko.

Terem Quartet. These famous local musicians have adapted classic works such as Oginsky's "Polonaise" and Schubert's "Ave Maria" for balalaika, bayan, domra, and alto domra to superb effect. Virtuosi in their instruments, and highly interactive in their performing style, which critics have branded "instrumental theater," they freely mix J.S. Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" with Russian folk songs, and make every concert a fun experience. St. Petersburg, St.-Petersburg. www.terem-quartet.ru.

The brainchild of Yury Temirkanov, artistic director of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, runs between Western Christmas (December 25) and Russian Orthodox Christmas (January 7) and showcases classical concerts and ballets with top-notch international stars. The State Russian Museum organizes special exhibitions and hosts receptions for the festival.