Mariinsky Theater – The Sacred Stage (Documentary)

Narrated by Emmy Award-winning actor Richard Thomas, Sacred Stage tells the astonishing story of the Mariinsky’s survival, illustrated with stunning performances from opera and ballet, as well as candid interviews with luminaries, scholars, and performers.

Featuring: Valery Gergiev (Artistic Director and Principal Conductor), Yevgeny Nikitin (Opera Singer), Yulia Makhalina (Ballet Dancer), George Tsypin (Opera Set Designer), Elizabeth Kendall (Dance Critic and Scholar), and Plácido Domingo.

Set against the backdrop of the magical White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg, Sacred Stage features the best in Russian symphonic music, ballet, and opera at Russia’s premier theatre—the Mariinsky, also known as the Kirov.

Sacred Stage explores what the theater has meant to Russian and Soviet culture, and how it has maintained its artistic excellence through war, revolution, and the collapse of Communism. It also looks at the life and work of Maestro Valery Gergiev, Artistic and Theater Director at the Mariinsky, and captures the excitement of his world—a world populated with artists, socialites, financiers, politicians, and celebrities.

“Splendid! A beautiful, succinct documentary.”
— Los Angeles Times