The programme of the 10th Eastern Economic Forum at the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre will include large-scale and chamber productions, outstanding and emerging musicians, and also – for the first time – a children’s opera.
From September 3 to 7, 2025, the Great and Chamber Halls of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre will host special events of the cultural programme of the EEF 2025.
On September 3, 2025, the playbill features the life-affirming opera by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Iolanta. Written at the end of the composer’s creative journey, Iolanta became one of his most radiant works. It was in this opera that the theme of love was revealed so vividly and eloquently: a sacrifice in the name of love and the victory of this lucent and sincere feeling over circumstances.
On September 4, 2025, the renowned virtuoso pianist Denis Matsuev will traditionally perform at the Primorsky Stage, accompanied by a unique ensemble and the largest youth music project in the country, the Russian National Youth Symphony Orchestra (RNYSO). The Orchestra consists of 128 performers from 35 regions of Russia. The Orchestra members collaborate with outstanding conductors and artists, which plays an important role in their professional development. In Vladivostok, the RNYSO will perform together with such famous, renowned musicians as Andrey Ivanov (double bass), Alexander Zinger (drums), Ekaterina Mochalova (domra, mandolin), and Borislav Strulev (cello).
On September 5 and 6, 2025 (14:00 and 19:00), the gem of the repertoire, Fikret Amirov’s ballet A Thousand and One Nights, will be presented to residents and guests of Primorsky Region. The production, included in the Golden Pool of the Russian Theatrical Productions, has become the most frequently performed ballet of the company on tour in Russia and abroad. Six performances will be held on the home stage in September, three of them as part of the EEF cultural programme.
On September 5, 2025, the burlesque opera Mavra will be performed in the Chamber Hall. Igor Stravinsky’s chamber opera, based on the poem by Alexander Pushkin The Little House in Kolomna, is staged at the Primorsky Stage in the spirit of the famous Russian dressing-up vaudevilles. In this production, musical scenes coexist with conversational ones, and the personages are not only the characters of the opera, but also the characters introduced by the stage director.
On September 6, 2025, the playbill of the Chamber Hall will be featuring an opera for the youngest audiences, Murych the Cat by Sergei Banevich. Banevich’s music has brought up more than one generation of listeners. The composer understands well how the small children perceive theatrical performances, and knows how to compose music that will be accessible, but at the same time professionally made. The story about the resourceful and slightly boastful cat Murych, celebrating his birthday with his family and friends, is designed for the youngest audiences and will find a lively response from both children and their parents.
The lush cultural programme of the EEF 2025 will be rounded up on September 7, 2025 by the grand opera by Giuseppe Verdi, Aida. The sharp psychological drama of the plot, which is based on the eternal conflict between duty and feeling, will be enveloped in the Ancient Egypt exoticism, grand-scale crowd scenes, large ensembles, ballet numbers, choruses, and processions. In this opera, the orchestra presents a filigree illustration of each hero, endowing them with certain traits. The Mariinsky Orchestra of the Primorsky Stage will present a unique instrument, the cimbasso, created specifically for Verdi’s masterpieces.
