An Opera at The Mariinsky-2

Only a few hours after getting off of the high speed train to St. Petersburg, our group had the chance to see an opera at the new stage of the Mariinsky. All of us were exhausted from our trip into the city. The gorgeous train ride through the wintry Russian countryside, left little time for sleeping. Coupled with the early morning, and traversing stairs with our suitcases, we were a tired bunch as we picked our way over the ice towards towards the theater on the Neva River. It was my very first opera, and I was pleasantly surprised by the Soviet Opera, Semyon Kotka.

The best part of the experience was hands down the theater itself. Opened in 2011, the second stage of the Mariinsky theater is opulent in its modernism. The onyx stone walls were back-lit with chandelier icicle lights providing the rest of the illumination. The theater space itself was very minimal and the stage curtain had a single feather on it. The set of the Opera, supposedly the Ukraine, was a dark, raised platform, with a useful hole in the middle. While an interesting, and somewhat neutral setting, I had the feeling that I was watching a Star Wars movie after a few hours.


Personal opinions on the show varied, however I enjoyed the performance. At almost four hours, the Soviet Opera was involved. Semyon Kotka, our main character, has just come back to his home town after fighting on the front lines on WW1. Once there, he wishes to get married to his childhood sweetheart, but complications ensue. One of them being her father, who would rather his daughter die than be married to Semyon. The main conflict was the arrival of Germans and Tussian nationalists who oppose communists like Semyon. The final scene sees communism triumph in a musical number praising Lenin and advocating "sprinkling the blood of our enemies on our freedom". With a premiere date of 1940 this propaganda like feeling was anticipated.



An infinite source of help were the English subtitles. It helped to keep me focused on the plot. That was the reason that the opera did not feel like a four hour performance to me, I was able to be involved. Unfortunately for my fledgeling opinion of opera, that also enabled me to realize how profuse and unnecessary the dialogue was. I enjoyed this opera, I would recommend it. Unfortunately, I do not know the next time that I will go to an opera voluntarily.