15 Best Performing Arts Venues in St. Petersburg, Russia

One of St. Petersburg's best-kept secrets is its oldest concert hall, dating to the 1780s and presenting choral events as well as symphonic, instrumental, and vocal concerts. Many famous musicians, including Glinka and Rimsky-Korsakov, have performed in this elegant space along the Moika, near the Alexander Pushkin Apartment Museum and the Winter Palace. The main entrance and the surrounding courtyards have been beautifully restored.

The former home of Prince Beloselsky-Belozersky, a rose-color neobaroque palace, has a large mirrored ballroom that hosts concerts.

For chamber and vocal music, head to this small theater, part of the Shostakovich Philharmonic (it's just around the corner from the main hall of the Philharmonic). It's also known as the Maly Zal (Small Hall).

This glorious and highly unusual theater in the Hermitage mainly hosts the St. Petersburg Camerata, a fine but often overlooked chamber ensemble. The theater doesn't have a box office, so purchase tickets at a theater kiosk or via your concierge. The entrance is reached via the museum's staff entrance at 34 Dvortsovaya embankment.

Lovers of contemporary classical music flock here to hear pieces written by its members—look for names such as Sergei Slonimsky, Boris Tishchenko, and Andrey Petrov—and their students at the conservatory.

Chamber music concerts are held here in atmospheric salons.

The lobby of this theater converted from a redbrick warehouse isn't much to look at and brings to mind a faceless business hotel. The inside of the hall itself, however, is a different story. It's a large-scale, world-class venue with stellar classical-music performances that's extremely comfortable and boasts superb acoustics. In addition to concert performances, a number of operas have been staged especially for the venue.

Many of the concerts organized at St. Petersburg's most historic venues are run by Peterburg Concert. These concerts are not usually of the same high standard found at other musical events in the city, but they are a much better bet than most of the events organized especially for tourist groups. Tickets can be bought directly from the Peterburg Concert offices.

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.

Charming evening concerts are held in authentic surroundings. The museum displays memorabilia related to Russia's greatest composers, musicians, conductors, and dancers.

Chamber concerts are held in one of the grand rooms of this palace that also houses Russia's national collection of musical instruments.

Two excellent symphony orchestras perform in the Philharmonic's newly refurbished grand concert hall (Bolshoy Zal): the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra and the Academic Philharmonic (a fine outfit, although it's officially the B-team). Both troupes have long, illustrious histories of collaboration with some of Russia's finest composers, and many famous works have premiered in this hall.

Popular with foreign worshippers, the church also hosts an engaging classical concert program that mixes secular and religious music.

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.

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.