The events of the saturated May playbill begin from the very first days of the month. The May holidays will be decorated with Adolphe Adam’s famous ballets Giselle on May 1, 2025 and Le Corsaire on May 3, 2025 at 14:00 and 19:00, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s sparkling opera buffa Le nozze di Figaro on May 2 and May 4, 2025 and Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s timeless classical ballet Swan Lake on May 8, 2025. The 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War will be marked with special events. On May 7 and May 8, 2025, beloved popular wartime songs will be performed by opera soloists of the Primorsky Stage in the Chamber Hall. On May 9, 2025, the Primorsky Stage will in concert present Alexander Borodin’s monumental opera Prince Igor where patriotism, courage and military virtue are main themes of the epic composition.
The premiere of Giuseppe Verdi’s Il trovatore will be the biggest event of the opera playbill. The somber romantic drama will unfold on the stage where two brothers, not suspecting their blood relationship, become implacable rivals in love and power. The opera music is distinguished by bright expression, and the intensity of emotions is rising while the performance goes on, transporting the audience to medieval Spain. The closing season premiere will be performed on May 23 and May 25, 2025.
The noticeable event of the ballet playbill is the return of Fikret Amirov’s ballet A Thousand and One Nights, which rates among the 100 best performances of the Golden Pool of the Russian Theatrical Productions. Now the ballet, which is based on the famous collection of Arabic and Persian fairy tales and unites neoclassical plastic, sound of traditional instruments and incredible entertainment and beauty effects in itself, has become the most often toured one in the repertoire of the Primorsky Stage. This season it was first performed in Beijing and Oman’s capital Muscat. Vladivostok will be given a unique opportunity to enjoy the colorful performance at the Primorsky Stage on May 10, 2025 at 15:00 and 19:00.
The eventful May will cheer the public with concerts dedicated to the anniversary of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s birth. On May 18, 2025, Ravil Islyamov, an outstanding violinist, recipient of 2nd prize and the Silver Medal at the XVII International Tchaikovsky Competition, will appear on the stage together with the Mariinsky Orchestra of the Primorsky Stage. The programme will include the Romance in F minor, for piano, the Violin Concerto and the Symphony No. 4. On May 29, 2025, the Chorus of the Primorsky Stage conducted by the Principal Chorus Master Larisa Shveikovskaya will for the first time perform the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, one of the most important sacred compositions by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. On May 31, 2025, marking the composer’s anniversary, a grand Gala concert of romances will be given by opera soloists and the Mariinsky Orchestra of the Primorsky Stage under Pavel Smelkov’s baton.
The concert playbill will also surprise the public with theatrical concerts with sand animation, which will be for the first time moved to the Great Hall of the Primorsky Stage. On May 28, 2025, the well-known cycle Le quattro stagioni by Antonio Vivaldi will be performed. The audience will be able to enjoy a musical journey over the seasons, being illustrated with sand pictures right at the moments of performance. On May 30, 2025, the musical fairy tale Ruslan and Lyudmila in its version literarily composed and musically edited by the Theatre’s Principal Conductor Pavel Smelkov, will be performed. Among the exclusive music events, there will also be a concert on the occasion of the Day of Slavonic Literature, which will be given on May 24, 2025.
The Primorsky Stage will open its doors to guest ensembles and musicians. On May 5, 2025, the Mangyongdae School Children’s Palace of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will for the first time present a concert in the Great Hall of the Theatre. On May 16, 2025, an exquisite Evening of violin music will be held in the Chamber Hall. Violinist Ravil Islyamov, a prizewinner at international competitions, will be a soloist accompanied by pianist Sholpan Barlykova. On May 25, 2025, also in the Chamber Hall a graduate concert will be given by the Branch of the Moscow State Academy of Choreography, one of the best and oldest schools of ballet all over the world.
The May playbill also includes favorite and new repertoire performances. The audiences are looking forward to enjoying bold and original productions such as Sergei Prokofiev’s opera The Love for Three Oranges on May 11, 2025, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera Die Zauberflöte on May 14, 2025, and Igor Stravinsky’s ballets Les Noces and Petrouchka on May 15, 2025 and chamber opera Mavra on May 17, 2025 at 17:00 and 19:30. Among the classical pearls of the second half of May, there will be Giacomo Puccini’s opera Tosca on May 16, 2025, Alexander Glazunov’s ballet Raymonda on May 17, 2025 and Adolphe Adam’s ballet Giselle on May 24, 2025.
For the youngest audience, the one-act operas for children will be performed in the Chamber Hall, including Leonid Klinichev’s The Little Prince on May 8, 2025, Sergei Banevich’s Murych the Cat on May 10, 2025 at 12:00 and 15:00 and Gennady Gladkov’s Town Musicians of Bremen on May 24, 2025 at 12:00, 15:00 and 17:00.
Scenic Introductions will help to make a visit to the Primorsky Stage more exiting. Till the end of the season, the tours of the Theatre will be conducted on May 1, May 2 and May 3, 2025 at 12:00 and 17:00, on May 4, May 8 and May 10, 2025 at 13:00 and 17:00 and on May 11, May 17, May 18, May 24 and May 31, 2025.
