· More than 200 thousand people visited the Theatre;
· More than 350 performances on the home stage and on tour took place;
· There were 4 high-profile premieres: the operas Don Pasquale by Gaetano Donizetti, Il trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi, and the ballets Les Noces and Petrouchka by Igor Stravinsky;
· The company went on 8 tours: to St Petersburg (summer and winter tours), Moscow, Krasnoyarsk, Beijing (People’s Republic of China), Muscat (Oman), Minsk (Belarus), and several cities of the Far Eastern Federal District;
· More than 10 invited teams gave their performances: Leonid Yakobson Ballet Theatre, Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre, Khabarovsk Musical Theatre, and others;
· 2 major Festivals took place: the IX International Mariinsky Far East Festival, and the II Far East Easter Festival;
· The artistic management, teachers and artists of the company received numerous awards and titles.
The Theatre company rounded up the season on the home stage on May 31, 2025. The final event of the 2024/25 season of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre in Vladivostok was the “Tchaikovsky – 185. Gala concert of romances” symphonic evening, marking the great composer’s anniversary.
In parallel, on May 28, 2025, the company took a tour to Krasnoyarsk, for the first time in its history. The Ballet Company presented Konyok-Gorbunok (The Little Humpbacked Horse), The Firebird and Phaedra. The audience will also enjoy the operas Iolanta, Pagliacci, Don Pasquale, and a large-scale Gala Concert. In the meanwhile, from June 2 to 15, 2025, the Primorsky Stage will host a tour of the Hvorostovsky Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre. The playbill includes the ballets Catarina ou la Fille du bandit, Spartacus, Dante’s Catharsis, and the operas Il barbiere di Siviglia and Lakmé. On June 4 and 5, 2025, the Ballet Company of the Primorsky Stage will end the season with its first ever performances in Minsk, presenting the ballet A Thousand and One Nights at the National Academic Grand Opera and Ballet Theatre of the Republic of Belarus. The performances of the Vladivostok company will open the annual Ballet Summer Festival in Minsk.
Premiere performances
In the 2024/25 season, the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre presented premiere performances of the operas Don Pasquale by Gaetano Donizetti, Il trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi, and the ballets Les Noces and Petrouchka by Igor Stravinsky. Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake received a new set design.
The chamber opera Mavra by Igor Stravinsky returned to the Chamber Hall playbill in a new director’s version.
Tours
The Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre actively toured throughout the season. In September 2024, the first tour took place at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. The historic stage hosted original opera and ballet performances from Vladivostok: the operas The Tsar’s Bride and Aida, and the ballets Le Corsaire, The Firebird, and Phaedra. The Ballet Company gave two traditional performances at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg. The performances included The Nutcracker, Raymonda, Le Corsaire, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, and Phaedra. In addition, the company’s signature ballet, A Thousand and One Nights, was first presented on international stages in Beijing (People’s Republic of China) and Muscat (Oman). In March, it became part of the Golden Pool of the Russian Theatrical Productions, which includes top 100 performances from all over the country.
In February 2025, opera soloists Yevgeny Plekhanov, Tatiana Makarchuk, and Ilya Astafurov performed for the first time at the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg in Rodion Shchedrin’s opera The Enchanted Wanderer.
Festivals
The IX International Mariinsky Far East Festival was held on the Primorsky Stage in October and November in two parts. The residents and guests of the city were treated to a rich program of events. The Mariinsky Orchestra conducted by maestro Valery Gergiev participated in the opening and first performances of the Festival. The opera part was adorned with such titles as The Enchanted Wanderer, Nabucco, Tosca, La Cenerentola, and a special performance of the opera Turandot.
The ballet part presented such new titles for the Far Eastern public as Anyuta and Coppélia. The ballets were performed by dancers of the Mariinsky Theatre and the Primorsky Stage.
Another grand Festival took place in April, when the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre held the II Far East Easter Festival in four regions of the Far Eastern Federal District. The company performed for the first time in the Jewish Autonomous Region and Amur Region. It then returned to Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territories with new concerts, having traveled almost 3,000 kilometers along the entire route: Vladivostok, Spassk-Dalny, Khabarovsk, Birobidzhan, Blagoveshchensk and Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
Titles and awards
The season 2024/25 was marked by high-profile professional triumphs and achievements. Ballet Artistic Director of the Primorsky Stage Eldar Aliev celebrated the 50th anniversary of his artistic career and was awarded the title of the People’s Artist of Russia.
Director of the Opera Company Elena Glushenko was awarded the title of the Honoured Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation.
The title of the Honoured Artist of Russia was awarded to Principal Dancer Anna Samostrelova and Principal Chorus Master Larisa Shveikovskaya.
Opera soloist Samira Galimova became a prize-winner at the Hibla Gerzmava International Competition, winning the 1st prize among vocalists. Soloist Bat-Erdene Dorjtseden and accompanist Alexey Tikhomirov received special prizes at that Competition.
First soloists of the Ballet Company Lada Sartakova and Denis Klepikov became prize-winners at the All-Russian Competition of Ballet Dancers and Choreographers – 2025; the Leading Coach-repetiteur Natalia Raldugina and the Ballet Director Alexander Kurkov, as well as the dancer of the Ballet Company Vladislav Rzhevsky, were awarded special prizes for training soloists and staging their choreographic performance for the All-Russian Competition.
Iolanta, an outstanding operatic premiere of the season 2024/25, received high praise from the jury of the Golden Mask theatre prize: the Chief Designer of the Primorsky Stage Pyotr Okunev was nominated for the prize for the best Set and Costume Designer’s work.
The Ballet Company’s dancers are finishing the season in a new status: Shizuru Kato was promoted to the rank of a principal, and Denis Klepikov became a first soloist of the Ballet Company of the Primorsky Stage.
Symphonic and chamber programmes
The season was full of musical events dedicated to important dates and anniversaries, such as the 180th anniversary of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, the 225th anniversary of Alexander Pushkin, the 185th anniversary of Pyotr Tchaikovsky. In February and March, an ambitious Verdi Marathon took place, whose program included all the operas of the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi included into the Primorsky Stage repertoire, as well as several special events.
The playbill of the Chamber Hall delighted music connoisseurs with a variety of chamber concerts. The following programmes were performed for the first time: “Evening of French Music”, “Melodies of the 20th Century”, “Orchestra Gold”, “Wartime Songs”, “Tango d'amour”, and others.
In September, the soloists, the Chorus of the Primorsky Stage and the Mariinsky Orchestra of the Primorsky Stage gave a large-scale open-air concert in the central square of Vladivostok, marking two events at once: the Great Consecration of the Transfiguration Cathedral building and the anniversary of Alexander Pushkin. Other outstanding visiting performances of the company included the traditional New Year’s Eve for teachers and students of the Far Eastern Federal University; a performance of the opera for the whole family Murych the Cat and a gala concert “I can recall that magic moment” at the Ussuriysk Theatre of the Russian Army.
Guests of the Theatre
Throughout the season, the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre offered a warm welcome to guest companies and ensembles: the Leonid Yakobson Ballet Theatre, the Khabarovsk Musical Theatre, the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre, the Central Exemplary Concert Band of the Russian Navy “Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov”, the Russian National Youth Symphony Orchestra, the China National Center of the Performing Arts Orchestra, the ensemble of the Mangyongdae School Children’s Palace of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, soloists of the Central Music School of the Academy of Performing Arts, graduates of the Vladivostok Branch of the Moscow State Academy of Choreography, the Combined Chorus of the Vladivostok Eparchy, and others.
Also in 2024, the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre traditionally became the main venue for the III International Pacific Theatre Festival. The Primorsky Stage marked national holidays and citywide events with special concerts and performances. Those were given on the Day of Slavonic Literature, Christmas and Easter, International Women’s Day, Defender of the Fatherland Day, and Great Victory Day.
Today’s leading musicians and artists performed on the Primorsky Stage this season: Denis Matsuev, Sergey Davydchenko, Ravil Islyamov, Ilya Kozlov, Vladimir Karyakin, Sofia Tyurina, Ekaterina Mochalova, Borislav Strulev, Olga Maslova, Zinaida Tsarenko, Renata Shakirova, Alexander Sergeev, Konstantin Zverev, Nadezhda Batoeva, Kimin Kim, May Nagahisa, Tatiana Serjan, Sergei Skorokhodov, Vyacheslav Vasilyev, and others.
Anniversaries
The main winter ballet, The Nutcracker by Pyotr Tchaikovsky staged by Eldar Aliev, celebrated its 10th anniversary on the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre. Also, the 10th anniversary of the first performance was celebrated this season by the performances Giselle, La traviata, The Firebird, Le Corsaire, and Tosca.
Educational activities
The educational activities of the Primorsky Stage included excursions, the Scenic Introduction project lectures taking place before performances and concerts, as well as guest lectures and master classes given by the Theatre’s artists and musicologists. In addition, the Primorsky Stage continued to hold creative competitions for the audiences this season, for instance, a creative workshop where New Year’s ornaments were made for the Theatre’s Christmas tree. The Primorsky Stage also became the initiator of a contest of ideas for new merchandise.
