St. Petersburg White Nights Festival

Posted on Sunday, April 10, 2011

During the summer months of the midnight sun, the White Nights Festival comes to St. Petersburg, Russia for its annual stay. The festival is full of ballet, operas, and classical music, as well as performances from Russian singers, musicians, actors, dancers, and even some famous international stars. Yearly, about one million people visit the festival, with the majority being students from schools and colleges all over the world.

The first appearance of the festival was in 1992, created by St. Petersburg’s first elected mayor, Anatoly Sobchak. The first held a schedule of 14 concerts and performances, including two ballets and three operas. The first went over so well that at the end of the festival, the next year’s event was already being planned. In 1993 at the second White Nights event, it was announced that it would be an annual occurrence. 93’s festival consisted of 27 performances, nearly doubling since the previous year. Not only have there been widely known operas performed at the festival, but there have also been productions of plays such as Othello, Un ballo in maschera, and Macbeth.

This year the White Nights Festival is scheduled to be from May 23rd to July 24th, and there is supposed to be quite a large schedule for entertainment. Unfortunately, the schedule containing the names of the operas, ballets, and music events has not been released yet. The only thing known is that there will be either a ballet or opera performed at the world-famous Mariinky Ballet and Opera theatre. I will be sure to update once the official schedule has been released, which is due sometime toward the end of the month.

St. Petersburg

Posted on Saturday, March 14, 2009

While no longer the capital of Russia, St. Petersburg still reigns as the heart of its culture. Founded by Peter the Great and inhabited by the likes of Dostoyevsky and Tchaikovsky, it celebrates the best of Russia. Called the Venice of the North, St. Petersburg's Neva River and many canals are lined with magnificent granite bridges and grand accompaniments. The first stop of art enthusiasts is the extravagant Winter Palace and the adjoining Hermitage, considered by some the finest art museum in the world. Even the historic city center is a World Heritage Site. St. Petersburg's ballets, symphonies and Russian Orthodox churches make visitors feel light as a feather, while its monuments, statues and imperial palaces set its legacy in stone.

Russian River cruises along the Volga river have become very popular over the years with travelers. Many of these cruises begin or end in St. Petersburg and allow for overnight stays on the ship, or at a hotel included in the package.