In 2026, the musical world celebrates the 135th anniversary of the birth of Sergei Prokofiev, one of the most brilliant and innovative composers of the early 20th century.
On May 20, 2026, the Primorsky Stage will present Prokofiev’s grotesque opera The Love for Three Oranges. The legendary ballet Romeo and Juliet will come as a spectacular season-ending premiere on May 29, 30, and 31, 2026.
Alexander Petrov’s production of The Love for Three Oranges premiered on the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre in 2023. The performance took place as part of the International Mariinsky Far East Festival, Valery Gergiev taking the conductor’s console. On that day, the opera was performed by the Primorsky Stage opera soloists accompanied by the Mariinsky Orchestra. Composed by thirty-year-old Prokofiev on the basis of the fairy tale by the 18th-century Italian playwright Carlo Gozzi, The Love for Three Oranges is a metaphor for love of theatre and the carnival underbelly of the world, for the impossibility of living outside the realm of play. The composer has created an opera about opera, its wonders, clichés, and absurdities, which were dear to the theatre audiences and to himself.
To round up the season, the theatre-goers will be treated to the grand premiere of the ballet Romeo and Juliet on May 29, 30, and 31, 2026, choreographed by Eldar Aliev. For the Primorsky Stage, the performance has been designed by Set Designer Semyon Pastukh and Costume Designer Liliya Khismatullina. Sergei Prokofiev’s ballet music was considered innovative for its time; it didn’t fit into the traditional canons of choreographic accompaniment either melodically or structurally. Even before the premiere, the ballet dancers called the music “not danceable”; the composer was forced to create two suites (and later another one) from the new ballet, which started to be performed separately in concerts long before the first night.
