Ballet advice in St. Petersburg
 

I guess my options for opera (non-existent) or ballet while I am in St. Petersburg in August range from Swan Lake to Swan Lake. That seems to be it.
Any suggestions as to which might be better to see?
Mikhailovsky Classical Ballet and Opera Theatre or Russian Classical Ballet Palace theatre.

Meanwhile I had already booked to see Swan Lake in Moscow at the Russian National Ballet Theatre, but I could still change that to a performance of Sleeping Beauty.
The Bolshoi is unfortunately closed while I'm there -- not surprised.

NeoPat....disqualifying statement "I am not, nor have I ever been a ballet enthusiast"..but on a '08 river trip to Russia, we were "treated" by Viking (scheduled tour rather than an option) to a Swan Lake performance. A small 250-seat venue with excellent close-in seating, clear from everywhere, The Russian Classical Ballet Theater (part of the Hermitage complex..."Theater "Aurora"..in honor of the retired famous Batteship "Aurora" permanently docked at the Neva nearby. A few aficonados pronounced the performance as purely amateurish...most of those from Viking seemed to enjoy the colorful set, the music and the overall performance...wife and I agreed. One of the self-proclaimed aficionados was most vehement in her derisionary remarks to the Viking guide. (This Ballet superfan was tossed into the Neva and never heard from again).

Seriously, Neo, my guess is that you will enjoy the evening. (In 1984, we saw a perfomance at Moscow's Bolshoi...ask me to tell you the diference and you get a blank stare!) Enjoy, NP!

http://rus-ballet.com/

Stu Tower

My understanding from my trip to St. Petersburg last August was that the major Opera and Ballet companies at the Mariinsky Theater are not in season in August.

The performances that time of year are intended for the tourist trade. I had planned on taking my daughter to the ballet, but when I realized it wasn't the famed "Kirov", I decided it didn't make much sense cost wise.

The could explain why the productions are something as well known as Swan Lake.

I saw Sleeping Beauty at the Mikhailovsky 2 weeks ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. The theatre is very small but lovely and quite recently refurbished. The seats are all Louis 15th style chairs with creamy white painting and deep pink upholstery. The set,dancing and orchestra were IMO excellent.

I can't remember how many acts there are in Swan Lake (there were 3 in Sleeping Beauty but I think it is a much longer ballet). If there are three be prepared for very long intervals between acts - 30 - 40 mins.

The Mikhailovsky Theatre isn't as grand or as famous as the Mariinsky but Princess Aurora was played by Irina Perren and Prince Desire by Leonid Sarafanov, both of whom are Mariinsky Ballet Dancers and considered to be in the top 10 dancers in the world!!