The Mariinsky Theatre has traditionally prepared a dazzling array of holiday events for audiences of all ages. Vivid productions, fairy-tale narratives and magnificent music make it irresistible – for children and adults alike – to immerse themselves in the world of winter magic during the New Year season.
On the final day of the outgoing year, 31 December, audiences will enjoy a packed programme across all stages of the theatre.
At the Historic Stage Tchaikovsky’s enchanting ballet The Nutcracker will be performed at 13:00 and 18:00.
At the New Stage Shchedrin’s opera A Christmas Tale (celebrating the tenth anniversary of its premiere) will be presented at 13:00 and 18:00.
At the Concert Hall the Mariinsky Stradivarius Ensemble will give its traditional New Year’s concert under the direction of the incomparable Lorenz Nasturica-Herschcowici (18:00).
The theatre opens its doors for the first performances of the new year on 2 January 2026. Throughout the holiday period it will offer numerous performances of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, ensuring that everyone has the chance to experience the quintessential winter fairy tale. Audiences will be able to see Vasily Vainonen’s classical production and Mihail Chemiakin’s celebrated version, as well as the staging by St Petersburg’s Leonid Yacobson Ballet Theatre (Vainonen’s choreography revised by Nikolai Tsiskaridze). The operatic programme for the January holidays opens with Shchedrin’s A Christmas Tale, based on Samuil Marshak’s The Twelve Months (2 January at 13:00 and 19:00); Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte in its spellbinding multimedia staging (3 January at 13:00 and 19:00); and the season’s vibrant new production – Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Golden Cockerel, directed by Anna Shishkina (3 January at 13:00 and 19:00, and 10 January at 13:00 and 19:00).
Other holiday highlights include Prokofiev’s sparkling comedy The Love for Three Oranges (4 January at 11:30, 15:30, and 19:30); the legendary Rimsky-Korsakov masterpieces The Tale of Tsar Saltan (8 January at 13:00 and 19:00) and Christmas Eve (6 January at 11:00, 15:30, and 20:00); Johann Strauss’ effervescent operetta Die Fledermaus (10 January at 13:00 and 18:00); Banevich’s opera The Story of Kai and Gerda in its updated staging (5 January at 12:00 and 18:00); Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel (7 January); Wagner’s uplifting and exuberant Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (11 January); and Glinka’s magical operatic poem Ruslan and Lyudmila in a shortened version adapted for family audiences (5 January at 12:00 and 18:00).
On 7 January the celebration of Orthodox Christmas will be marked on the Mariinsky Theatre’s New Stage with a performance of Rimsky-Korsakov’s epic mystery The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya. The concert playbill for the opening days of the New Year features two appearances by the renowned Mariinsky Stradivarius Ensemble and its Artistic Director Lorenz Nasturica-Herschcowici (2 and 7 January), an unforgettable concert by the ensemble Renaissance Percussion (8 January) and a cornerstone of Russian sacred music – Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil, performed on Christmas Eve (6 January) by the Mariinsky Chorus.
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