Briefing devoted to 10th international Stars of the White Nights festival (2002), 17 June 2002

On 17th June, Valery Gergiev, Artistic and General Director of the Mariinsky Theatre, took part in a briefing on the highlights of the 10th international Stars of the White Nights festival.
There will be a charity concert on 18th June with stars of the Mariinsky Opera Company, including Vladimir Galuzin, currently one of the world's greatest tenors. Proceeds will benefit the Child´s Soul Artistic Rehabilitation Centre for abandoned and disabled children. The concert will last one hour and fifteen minutes.

The concert performance of Sergei Prokofiev´s opera The Story of a Real Man on 20th June could be regarded as an unprecedented step for the theatre and one of the most significant events of this year´s festival. The opera, based on Boris Polevoy´s short story of the same name, was written during what was a difficult period for the composer - the Central Committee had issued a decree about Vano Muradeli´s opera The Great Friendship, branding Prokofiev a formalist. The opera was performed only once at a private viewing at the Kirov Theatre in 1948 and has not been staged there since. The Story of a Real Man is making its return to the Mariinsky Theatre, which now has all of Sergei Prokofiev´s operatic masterpieces in its repertoire.

Performances in the last two weeks of the festival are sure to prove highpoints. 22 june, evening - ball at the palace in Peterhof. This is the second year running that festival guests are invited to attend a ball in one of the former imperial estates. This year, the ball provides a unique opportunity to pass a white night in one of the most beautiful palaces and parks in Russia.

The Baltika prizes will be awarded during a grand prize-giving ceremony at the Maestro Gergiev and Friends concert on 23rd June. As usual, nominations include the Grand-prix, prizes For achievements in opera and ballet and the Hope prize.
Boris Godunov (1869 version) and Khovanshchina (orchestrated by Dmitry Shostakovich), Musorgsky´s operatic masterpieces, will be performed as part of the tenth international of the White Nights festival.

Valery Gergiev will be conducting the opera Boris Godunov on 27th June at Vyborg Castle when the Stars of the White Nights and Saimaa-Vyborg festivals come together. This will be the first performance by the Mariinsky Theatre in the ancient castle´s historic interior, and the open-air venue will lend the opera a special atmosphere. The Stars of the White Nights festival will be visiting the Leningrad Region.

The Stars of the White Nights will be passing the baton on to the Saimaa-Vyborg festival, which has taken "the world without borders" as its theme. There will be concerts on 26th, 27th and 28th July in Savitaipale and Suomennieme (Finland) as well as in Karnikoska Fortress, founded by Alexander Suvorov, the great Russian military leader, as part of the Saimaa festival.
The Mariinsky Theatre´s forthcoming plans include performances and concerts in the fortress in Ivan-Gorod. The theatre is also examining the possibility of performing at the fortress in Narva (Estonia). Continuing this trend, there are also plans to stage performances and concerts in Kaliningrad.