News: 2006-12-19

Mariinsky Theatre Opens New Concert Hall

Valery Gergiev, the indefatigable artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre, was triumphant at the inauguration of the theatre’s brand-new, state-of-the-art concert hall, located in the company’s former warehouse on Ulitsa Pisareva, a few hundred meters from the historical building. First time in modern Russia when private sponsors have invested more than the state into a grand scale cultural project: $24 million came from private companies and individuals and $15 million from the Federal budget. The story of the Mariinsky’s new Concert Hall, which is also referred to as the theatre’s “third stage”, is almost literally the story of a phoenix rising from the ashes.

In September 2003, the warehouse on Ulitsa Pisareva nearly perished in a massive blaze that destroyed scenery for at least 30 of the theatre’s productions that was stored here. It was later decided to use space for a modern concert hall and construction began in June 2005. Designed by French architect Xavier Fabre in the shape of child’s cradle, the new concert hall can seat 1,100 people. Good visibility and excellent acoustics are hallmarks of the new space. Gergiev personally selected several types of seats for the auditorium-they differ depending on their location in the hall-which were commissioned from a French furniture factory. This is a very multifunctional space, open to experiments with scenery, genres and new forms of artistic activities. Japanese acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota of the internationally acclaimed Nagata Acoustics was responsible for the hall’ acoustics. The company prides itself on the concept ional sound of some of the world’s most distinguished classical venues, including Japan’s Sapporo and Kawasaki concert halls and the US Walt Disney hall in Los Angeles. Canadian maple-Yasuhisa Toyota’s preferred material- was ordered for the hall’s interiors. Local experts have suggested the Karelian pine but as the acoustician has not worked with the material, the maple was requested. “There are just 300 grams of wood in a violin but what makes a Stradivari precious is its marvelous acoustics. Likewise, we could have spent three hundred million dollars on this hall but its value is in it acoustics,” Gergiev said. “President Putin visited the new concert hall and sat in on a rehearsal for the gala.