Chorus of the Mariinsky Theater (The Mariinsky Theater Chorus) |

The Mariinsky Theater Chorus

The Choir of the Mariinsky Theater is a collective well-known in Russia and abroad. It is interesting not only for the highest professional skills, but also for its history, which is rich in events and is closely connected with the development of Russian musical culture.

In the middle of the 2000th century, during the activity of the outstanding opera conductor Eduard Napravnik, famous operas by Borodin, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky were staged for the first time at the Mariinsky Theatre. Large-scale choral scenes from these compositions were performed by the Mariinsky Theatre’s choir, which was an organic part of the opera troupe. The theater owes the successful development of the traditions of choral performance to the highly professional work of outstanding choirmasters – Karl Kuchera, Ivan Pomazansky, Evstafy Azeev and Grigory Kazachenko. The foundations laid by them were carefully preserved by their followers, among whom were such choirmasters as Vladimir Stepanov, Avenir Mikhailov, Alexander Murin. Since XNUMX Andrey Petrenko has directed the Mariinsky Theater Choir.

Currently, the choir’s repertoire is represented by a wide range of works, from numerous operatic paintings of Russian and foreign classics to compositions of the cantata-oratorio genre and choral works. a cappella. In addition to Italian, German, French and Russian operas performed at the Mariinsky Theater and such works as the Requiems by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Giuseppe Verdi and Maurice Duruflé, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, Georgy Sviridov’s Petersburg cantata, the choir’s repertoire is well represented sacred music: Dmitry Bortnyansky, Maxim Berezovsky, Artemy Vedel, Stepan Degtyarev, Alexander Arkhangelsky, Alexander Grechaninov, Stevan Mokranyats, Pavel Chesnokov, Igor Stravinsky, Alexander Kastalsky (“Fraternal Commemoration”), Sergei Rachmaninov (All-Night Vigil and Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom ), Pyotr Tchaikovsky (Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom), as well as folk music.

The theater choir has a beautiful and powerful sound, an unusually rich sound palette, and in performances, the choir artists demonstrate bright and acting skills. The choir is a regular participant in international festivals and world premieres. Today it is one of the leading choirs in the world. His repertoire includes over sixty operas of Russian and foreign world classics, as well as a huge number of works of the cantata-oratorio genre, including works by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Sergei Rachmaninov, Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitri Shostakovich, Georgy Sviridov, Valery Gavrilin, Sofia Gubaidulina and others.

The Mariinsky Theater Choir is a regular participant and leader of the choral programs of the Moscow Easter Festival and the International Festival dedicated to the Day of Russia. He took part in the first performances of The Passion According to John and Easter According to St. John by Sofia Gubaidulina, Novaya Zhizn by Vladimir Martynov, The Brothers Karamazov by Alexander Smelkov, and the Russian premiere of The Enchanted Wanderer by Rodion Shchedrin (2007).

For the recording of Sofia Gubaidulina’s St. John Passion in 2003, the Mariinsky Theater Choir under Valery Gergiev was nominated in the Best Choral Performance category for the Grammy Award.

In 2009, at the III International Choir Festival dedicated to the Day of Russia, the Mariinsky Theater Choir, conducted by Andrey Petrenko, performed the world premiere of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom Alexander Levin.

A significant number of recordings have been released with the participation of the Mariinsky Choir. Such works of the group as Verdi’s Requiem and Sergey Prokofiev’s cantata “Alexander Nevsky” were highly appreciated by critics. In 2009, the first disc of the Mariinsky label was released – Dmitri Shostakovich’s opera The Nose, which was recorded with the participation of the Mariinsky Theater Choir.

The choir also participated in subsequent projects of the Mariinsky label — recordings of the CDs Tchaikovsky: Overture 1812, Shchedrin: The Enchanted Wanderer, Stravinsky: Oedipus Rex/The Wedding, Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 2 and 11.

Source: official website of the Mariinsky Theater