Fodor's Expert Review Stars of the White Nights

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.