St Petersburg, Russia — Activities
St Petersburg Culture
St Petersburg has a rich tradition of literature and music. Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Gogol, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Rimsky-Korsakov and Shostakovich all lived and worked here, producing many of their most famous works in the historic old town. Opera and ballet also have a long and rich history in St Petersburg - the world-renowned Vaganova Ballet School was founded here in 1738, and the Mariinsky Theater still showcases the works of the equally-renowned Kirov Ballet and Kirov Opera companies. During the transitional years of post-Soviet Russia, the removal of state subsidies hit the cultural life of the city hard, but sponsorships by local and national businesses have breathed new life into many of St Petersburg's most famous cultural institutions.
Tickets and programs are available from the box offices at the venues, but you can buy discounted tickets from the theater ticket kiosks or kassas located throughout the city (open 1000-1900). The largest are along Nevsky prospekt, around the junction with Mikhailovskaya ulitsa. Foreign visitors are officially charged higher rates than Russians and ticket collectors are reluctant to admit foreigners with Russian-price tickets.
The St Petersburg Times (website: www.sptimes.ru) provides up-to-date cultural listings in English. Casual dress is the norm for bars and clubs, but you should smarten up if you plan a visit to the theater, ballet or to a classical concert. Men will be expected to wear a shirt, tie and trousers.
Music: The twin concert halls of the Shostakovich Philharmonia (website: www.philharmonia.spb.ru) are the setting for classical performances by touring orchestras and the traditional St Petersburg Academic Symphonic Philharmonic Orchestra. The acoustics at Glinka Maly Zal (Small Hall), Nevsky prospekt 30 (tel: (812) 571 8333), are said to be better than in the vast Bolshoi Zal (Main Hall), Mikhailovskaya ulitsa 2 (tel: (812) 710 4257). St Petersburg State Capella, naberezhnaya reki Moyki 20 (tel: (812) 314 1058), has a small concert hall for classical choral music, small orchestras and solo performances by the Moyka River. The house soloists sing at the Sunday Holy Liturgy, starting at 1000, in the Preobrazhensky Cathedral, Preobrazhenskaya ploschad 1 (tel: (812) 272 3662). Terem-Kvartet (tel: (812) 710 4096; website: www.terem-quartet.ru) is a lively company that presents unusual interpretations of classical works and opera, played on traditional Russian instruments, at various venues.
For opera, the hottest ticket in town is the exquisite Mariinsky Theater, Teatralnaya ploschad 1 (tel: (812) 326 4141; website: www.mariinsky.ru), but seats are booked up well in advance. If you fail to get a ticket for the Mariinsky, the next-best venue is the handsome Mikhailovsky Theater, Iskusstv ploschad 1 (tel: (812) 595 4305; website: www.mikhailovsky.ru), also known as the Mussorgsky Opera and Ballet Theater. For lively folk music, including Cossack and Russian dance, book a seat at the Feel Yourself Russian show, performed nightly at 1830 at the Nicholaievsky Palace, Truda ploschad 4 (tel: (812) 312 5500).
Theater: The Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theater, naberezhnaya reki Fontanki 65 (tel: (812) 310 0401; website: www.bdt.spb.ru), presents classical performances of traditional Russian drama. The Komissarzhevskaya Theater, Italyanskaya ulitsa 19 (tel: (812) 571 3102; website: www.teatrvfk.ru), is known for the innovative modern staging of artistic director Victor Novikov. There are several venues for comic and musical theater, including the Akimov Comedy Theater, Nevsky prospekt 56 (tel: (812) 312 4555; website: www.komedia.spb.ru).
Dance: Ballet in St Petersburg remains conservative, with a repertoire based on Russian and European classics. The Mariinsky Company (formerly the famous Kirov Ballet Company) nurtured greats such as Nureyev and Pavlova and performances at the Mariinsky Theater, Teatralnaya ploschad 1 (tel: (812) 326 4141; website: www.mariinsky.ru), can be booked out months in advance. The modern interpretations of classical ballets by the St Petersburg Ballet Theater (website: www.spbt.ru) have enraged and delighted ballet fans in equal measure; the troupe often appears at Oktyabrskaya Concert Hall, Ligovsky prospekt 6 (tel: (812) 275 1273).
Film: There are several cinemas on Nevsky prospekt screening recent American films dubbed into Russian as well as new Russian films, including the popular Avrora, Nevsky prospekt 60 (tel: (812) 315 5254; website: www.avrora.spb.ru). Russian and foreign art house films are shown at Dom Kino, Karavannaya ulitsa 12 (tel: (812) 314 5614; website: www.domkino.spb.ru). The St Petersburg Times (website: www.sptimes.ru) has film listings. Look out for screenings of Soviet classics, particularly during the Festival of Festivals film festival in June.
Anna Karenina (1935), starring Greta Garbo and directed by Edmund Golding, was set in St Petersburg, as was Eisenstein's October (1927). Warren Beatty's Reds (1981) charts the same historic events through the eyes of the journalist, John Reed.
Literary Notes: Pushkin, the most respected poet in Russian literature, is widely revered in St Petersburg. The great poet lived in a flat on the Moyka River, and lost his famous duel close to the site of the modern Chyornaya Rechka metro station. In his epic poem, The Bronze Horseman, the statue of Peter the Great comes terrifyingly to life, pursuing the hapless Yevgeny through the streets of St Petersburg.
Tolstoy's dislike of St Petersburg high society was detailed in his sharp depictions of court life in Anna Karenina (1877). At around the same time, Dostoevsky produced his devastating descriptions of poverty and despair in the slums. In his seminal novel Crime and Punishment (1866), he wrote of St Petersburg's 'tattered population, its dirty and nauseous courtyards'.
The novelist Nikolai Gogol lived at Malaya Morskaya ulitsa 17, just off the Nevsky prospekt. He wrote a novel named after that street, which he described as ‘the jewel of our capital', but he was not averse to describing the poverty of the serfs. Today, he is best known for his surreal and comical St Petersburg Tales.
The life of the urban poor had not improved markedly by the time the journalist, John Reed, chronicled the events of the 1917 October Revolution in his book Ten Days That Shook The World (1919). The book brilliantly sums up the desperation and paranoia of the time.
St Petersburg Tours
Walking Tours
The City Tourism Information Center (tel: (812) 310 2822; website: www.visit-petersburg.com) can put visitors in touch with private companies who offer themed tours around the city. Angloturismo (tel: (921) 989 4722) offers daily English-language walking tours, leaving from Cafe Rico (Nevsky prospekt 77/1) at 1000. However, you can see most of the famous sites by strolling along the 5km (3 miles) of Nevsky prospekt, from the Admiralty to Anichkov Bridge, and making small detours along the way. Along the way, you'll pass the some of the most outstanding neoclassical buildings in St Petersburg and a series of stately churches and cathedrals.
River Tours
Numerous small operators run tours along the river and canals, visiting famous sights like the Church on Spilled Blood and the bridge linking the Hermitage and Hermitage theater, but only Angloturismo (tel: (921) 989 4722) runs tours in English. The best tours start from the Griboedova canal and boats leave as soon as there are enough passengers. You can also find jetties for boat tours on the Moyka River, the Fontanka River and Konverskiy proliv, the channel that runs around Zayachy island.
Helicopter Tours
Baltic Airlines (tel: (812) 117 0084; www.balticairlines.ru) operates short helicopter flights around St Petersburg as well as transfers to Peterhof, departing from the Peter and Paul Fortress every weekend.
