For The Love of Travel

The “Stars of the White Nights Music Festival” is being held between May and July. I booked a ticket to see “Pagliacci” at the Mariinsky Theatre.

The history of the Mariinsky Opera Company dates back to 1783 when Empress Catherine II issued a decree on the establishment of a theatre committee “to direct plays and music.” “… A Russian theatre is needed so that it exists not just for comedies and tragedies, but also for operas,” the decree stated.

Since then, the Mariinsky Theatre has presented many great artists to the world:  great singers such as Fyodor Shalyapin and ballet: Anna Pavlova, Vaclav Nijinsky, Rudolf Nureyev, and Mikhail Baryshnikov. 

Alexander Pushkin wrote about the theatre in his poems.

Pagliacci first premiered at this theatre in 1893. Tonight, Gavriel Heine, is the conductor, mostly a youngish Russian cast performing in the major roles and a large ensemble of locals in the crowd scenes. Roman Burdenko in the role of Tonio, an international prize-winning baritone.

I thought I’d revisit the Church of Spilled Blood to see if I could take a pic of the outside with less crowds around, and bingo! def less people. BUT, a lovely yellow crane had also been moved into place that night right in front of the Church – to move a ticket booth into a new location. Grr! But a little walk down the side street to get a view of the Church from the canal was successful.

What a day to visit the Lower Gardens of the Peterhof Palace estate – sunshine and 20 degrees. Took the 30 min hydrofoil from Lion Pier straight to the gardens.

The fountains were sparkling brilliantly and hundreds of people were perambulating.

Dinner @ The Repa. The restaurant’s interior was created by Russian designer Alena Akhmadullina. The concrete walls are adorned with murals inspired by the work of artist Andrey Remnev, and works of modern art are on display throughout the space.

The furniture design also reflects this style: simple items sit beside complex, whimsical pieces, and elements of the wall art are repeated in the embroidery on the chairs. Historic autographs of brilliant figures from the arts world, such as Maya Plisetskaya, Placido Domingo, Diana Vishneva, and Mihail Chemiakin have been preserved on the walls.

With a focus on produce and provenance, the restaurant’s short menu features interesting ingredients from different regions of Russia and other Eurasian countries. 

Rainy and grey day – perfect for visiting the Hermitage museum.  Founded in 1764 when Catherine the Great acquired an impressive collection of paintings from a Berlin merchant. A collection of over 3 million items, including the largest collection of paintings in the world.

Decided to concentrate on the 3rd floor of the General Staff Building (Rossi wing). French salon painting was rather grand, featuring elegant woman with alabaster skin posing coquettishly  – Francis Xavier Winterhalter’s 1958 portrait of Sofia Naryshkina stood out, particularly as a result of the elaborate frame; as did Joseph Desire Court’s 1840 portrait of  demur and wistful looking Princess Ekaterina Scherbatov.

Picasso, Matisse, Gaugin, Renoir, Latour and Van Gogh all were represented. I particularly liked Van Gogh’s, “Thatched Cottages”, and “Bush”. And Renoir’s, “Roses and Jasmine”.

I discovered some new artists – Rockwell Kent from the USA – his “Seal Hunter:North Greenland” was captivating.

Loved Bernard Buffet’s,  “St Petersburg: The Hermitage, Winter Palace”.

A small gallery of Kandinsky’s works, including “Winter Landscape”, was the last hurrah!