Cultural activities St. Pete
 

Hi everyone:

Here I am with another St. Pete question...

I know St. Pete is culturally rich with music, dance, etc. On our visit there, we will only have the opportunity to perhaps attend maximum 2 evening cultural events. Would love to hear what are "must sees" e.g. Bolshoi, etc.
As always, many thanks,
Lori

Bolshoi is now in St. Pete? WHEN DID THEY MOVE AND WHY???? :((

Do you mean St. Petersburg, in Russia? If so, the ballet company is the Kirov. The fig must see, IMO, is the Hermitage Palace, with its incredibly rich collection of art.

Sorry FainaAgain...didn't mean to frighten you...as far as I know, the Bolshoi has not moved to St Pete. I was distracted at work when I posted (I hate it when work gets in the way of my travel planning...lol). I meant to say ballet and I meant to put this under "Russia" and not "Europe". I will try again with a new post...Underhill, I will most certainly visit the Hermitage...it has been a long time dream of mine to see its incredible collection.
Many thanks,
Lori

As Faina alluded to, the Bolshoi is in Moscow, while the Kirov Opera and Ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre are in St. Petersburg (and the opera and orchestra are conducted by Valery Gergiev, probably the premier conductor in the world today).

My first recommendation is seeing an opera or ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre. If the program isn't to your liking, you can also attend the Mussorgsky Theatre, which often has good operas and ballets. In addition, there is the Shostakovich Hall, a premier concert hall where Yuri Temirkanov is the resident conductor (he is also musical director of the Baltimore Symphony), and the theatres at Yussopov Palace and the Hermitage (generally not the best companies, but architectural gems). Boris Eifman's ballet company is a wonderful, contemporary dance troupe.

When clients of ours request tickets, if they are heavily into classical music it is usually first for anything with Gergiev, then Temirkanov; for those who are not as obsessed, it depends on the program and the venue. Specific recommendations really depend on a combination of your interests and the schedule for the days you visit. I do advise you to get your tickets in advance, as better performances do sell out in advance (especially during June/July for the White Nights Festival at the Mariinsky Theatre).

Hi Marc:

Thank you for your very informative answer. I have come across your name elsewhere and had been planning to contact you anyway. As soon as I get a few thoughts together, I will email you.
Kind regards,
Lori

OK... let me add to your confusion :)

There is the famous "Bolshoi" in Moscow - opera and ballet. There IS another Bolshoi in St. Pete, a philarmonics. There is also another Bolshoi in St. Pete - puppets theater.

I just expected M-D-Miller to kick my behind :)

lol...thanks for the clarification FainaAgain!
Lori