The Mariinsky Theatre is to appear at the opening of the Russian Seasons in Italy

From 11 to 16 January the Mariinsky Opera and Orchestra will be appearing at the Tchaikovsky Festival at the Auditorium Parco della Musica of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (Italy). The festival is being held as part of the major cultural project Russian Seasons, which was initiated by the Government of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.

On 11, 12 and 13 January there will be three concert performances of the opera Iolanta featuring the orchestra and chorus of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. The lead roles will be performed by Irina Churilova (Iolanta), Najmiddin Mavlyanov (Vaudémont), Alexei Markov (Robert), Stanislav Trofimov (King René) and Roman Burdenko (Ibn-Hakia). Valery Gergiev will be conducting.

On 14 January there will be the opening ceremony of the Russian Seasons festival with the participation of Deputy Chair of the Government of the Russian Federation Olga Golodets and Undersecretary of State to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic Maria Elena Boschi. Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra will present three programmes dedicated to the music of Pyotr Tchaikovsky. 14 January will see performances of the First and Sixth Symphonies, on 15 January there will be performances of the Second and Fifth Symphonies and on 16 January there will be Symphonies Nos 3 and 4.

Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra will subsequently continue their tour to Belgium. On 17 January works by Pyotr Tchaikovsky will be performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in Antwerp. The programme includes highlights from music for the ballet The Nutcracker, Symphony No 4 and Piano Concerto No 1 (soloist: Ivan Bessonov).