Entertainment in St Petersburg

Opera and Ballet Houses

Mariinsky theater

Photo by Express To Russia Staff

Many of Russia’s most spectacular ballets and operas were premiered in the capital of Imperial Russia, and a holiday to St Petersburg isn’t complete without a performance at one of the imperial theatres. The Mariinsky Theatre is the crown jewel of St Petersburg’s ballet and opera theatres. On the 19th-century main stage and in the modern Mariinsky II you can watch all the classics – ballets like Swan Lake, the Nutcracker, and Sleeping Beauty, and operas like Carmen, The Magic Flute, and Eugene Onegin. Alternatively, visit the Mikhailovsky – an imperial theatre opposite the Russian Museum which showcases a similar repertoire of Russian and European classical ballet and opera. The oldest of them all is the Hermitage Theatre, part of the State Hermitage Museum and the original imperial theatre. Here you can watch performances from the Golden Age of Russian ballet.

Learn more about St Petersburg’s opera and ballet theatres here.

Drama Theatres

Baltic House

Photo by Expess To Russia Staff

While opera and ballet in St Petersburg tends towards the classical, in the city’s drama theatres you can watch a wide range of performances. The most famous in St Petersburg is the Alexandrinsky Theatre, the National Drama Theatre of Russia, housed in an architectural masterpiece built by Karlo Rossi. Its current repertoire includes historical plays like Hamlet, modern interpretations of Crime and Punishment and Cyrano de Bergerac, and a play chronicling Stalin’s transformation from revolutionary to tyrant. Other dramatic highlights include the Youth Theatre on the Fontanka, which showcases young and up-and-coming playwrights and performers; the Lensovet Theatre, where you can watch performances based the works of Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Chekhov; and the Bolshoi Drama Theatre, a turquoise cake of a building, with a playbill of award-winning modern and classic plays.

Read about St Petersburg’s drama theatres here.

Classical Concert Halls

Philharmonic Hall

Photo by Express To Russia Staff

Round off your experience of St Petersburg’s classical performing arts with a visit to one of the classical music concert halls. The prestigious St Petersburg Philharmonic is the oldest philharmonic in Russia, counting Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Strauss and Wagner among those who performed there. Today it hosts two world-famous orchestras – the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra and St Petersburg Academic Symphony Orchestra. The Mariinsky Concert Hall has some of the most advanced technology and acoustics in Russia, and hosts concerts by Russian and international composers and musicians. The St Petersburg State Capella is the oldest musical education and performance institution in the country, founded in the 15th century as the choir of Grand Prince Ivan III, and its choir and symphony orchestra are famous around the world.

You can learn about these classical concert halls here.

Concert Halls

Ledovy Dvorets

Photo by Photobank Lori

If you’ve had your fill of classical music, then St Petersburg’s other concert halls have a lot to offer. For example, the St Petersburg State Jazz Philharmonic Hall, founded by eminent Russian jazz musician David Goloshchekin. In its Great Hall 200 spectators can sit at small tables or dance the night away on a central dance floor, to the music of Russian and international jazz artists. At the Lensovet Palace of Culture, theatrical performances, show programs, and concerts by Russian and international musicians are held in the enormous auditorium. Aurora is a concert hall/nightclub where alternative musicians and DJs from around the world perform to a 1,600-strong audience, and Cosmonaut is another renowned club/concert hall, staging Russian and international big names representing a wide range of genres – from hip hop and drum and bass, to rap and rock.

Discover more of St Petersburg’s concert halls here.

Cinemas

Avrora

Photo by Express To Russia Staff

Visiting the cinema is a beloved pastime in St Petersburg – and it’s no wonder, with so many unique places to catch a movie in the city! Two of St Petersburg’s most famous cinemas are neighbours: Dom Kino (House of Cinema) screens the best of Russian and foreign cinema including retrospectives, original-language films, and contemporary independent cinema; next door in the imposing, palazzo-style building is Rodina (Motherland), which showcases a range of European arthouse movies, children’s films, and Russian and international blockbusters. Nearby is Aurora, the first cinema in St Petersburg. Its listing includes documentary films, Hollywood and Russian premieres and retrospectives, to be enjoyed from the restored historical auditorium. If you’re looking for original-language films only, then head to Angleterre Cinema Lounge in the Angleterre Hotel opposite St Isaac’s Cathedral.

Click here for more information about St Petersburg’s cinemas.

Circuses

The Bolshoi Circus

Photo by Photobank Lori

There is one circus in St Petersburg: the Bolshoi Circus on the Fontanka River. Inside the magnificent Neoclassical building you can watch seasonal performances which include clowns, gymnasts, jugglers, and animal trainers (Russia is one of the few countries where wild animals are still used in circus performances, which can be a fairly shocking sight to foreign tourists). As well as performances, the circus on Fontanka is home to a museum of world circus heritage.

Read more about St Petersburg’s Bolshoi Circus here.

Children’s Theatres  

Music Theater

Photo by Express To Russia Staff

In St Petersburg you’ll find plenty of entertainment for children, too. The oldest children’s theatre in the city is the Young Spectators’ Theatre, whose playbill includes performances for children, teenagers and adults, and whose auditorium accessible for disabled guests. The State Philharmonic for Children and Young People has its own symphony orchestra, puppet troupe, drama troupe and opera company, and stages international classics and modern plays, concerts and shows. Another highlight is the Children’s Drama Theatre ‘On the Neva’, with a playbill of fairy tales. There are also several puppet theatres in St Petersburg such as the Bolshoi Puppet Theatre, State Puppet Theatre, and Demmeni Marionette Theatre.

Learn more about chilren's theatres here

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