Mariinsky plays 90 percent full under Gergiev

Mariinsky plays 90 percent full under Gergiev

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norman lebrecht

August 03, 2016

The season stats have been released at the Mariinsky in St Petersburg.

Attendance is high across all seven stages: the main Mariinsky Theatre for opera and ballet, the Concert Hall, Mariinsky-2 and four chamber music halls.

mariinsky new

Comments

  • harold braun says:

    Maybe the single music director of a major opera house who cares about his house.Most of those today do 2 weeks of rehearsal and performances,then they are off for 3 months.Coming back for 3 weeks,off for 2 months….and so on..

    • Christopher Culver says:

      Well, Gergiev isn’t exactly known for being generous with rehearsal time.

      I’d say that the full houses are due rather to the fact that tickets are very affordable by local standards, so more people can make concertgoing a regular activity.

    • John says:

      Do we know if this company receives any kind of state subsidy?

      • Peter says:

        Of course they do. As almost any higher cultural institution in the cultured world does. Exceptions apply. Let’s make America great again. Let’s subsidize culture in the US by raising the top bracket marginal income tax to almost 90%, just like in those times when America was actually great, under Eisenhower and JFK.

      • Evgenij says:

        Not just that but theatres would silently give out tickets that hasn’t been bought out for 1/10 of the price to pensioners and school children. Which improves the stats greatly, obviously.

  • M2N2K says:

    Statistics in Russia are almost as reliable as urine samples.

    • Milka says:

      every once in a while you hit the nail on the head …..lol

      • M2N2K says:

        My “nail” always hits precisely where it should, unlike your “head” which in musical matters often gets badly misdirected and therefore hopelessly lost.

  • MacroV says:

    Big state subsidies, generally affordable tickets (much more expensive for foreigners, IIRC), and a music-loving public. And a pretty high standard of production/performance.

    Though how much is Gergiev there? He always seems to be on tour with the orchestra, leading his other orchestra, or guest-conducting. We know he’s the hardest-working man in the music business, but he can’t be in two places at once.

    • Peter Schünemann says:

      Gergiev conducted from January to July 2016 90 performances in St. Petersburg.

    • Anmarie says:

      That’s not actually true as I, myself, have attended Gergiev’s concerts here in Boston, London, and Moscow all on the same evening. And, I might add, he was superb, especially in London.

  • Dave says:

    I wonder if Putin demands that fannies be placed in empty seats.

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