The Mariinsky Theatre was founded in 1783 following a decree by Empress Catherine the Great to stage the first Russian comic operas and the best works by foreign composers.
The current theatre was built on a site that had been a circus, opposite the Italian Bolshoi Theatre in Carousel Square. Today this area is known as Theatre Square, and the Italian opera house has long ago made way for the famous St. Petersburg Conservatory, named after Rimsky-Korsakov who taught there for nearly 40 years.Designed by the architect Caves, the theatre, opened in 1860, was named for Maria, wife of the reigning Tsar Alexander II.Known during the Soviet era as the Kirov, after a Russian revolutionary leader, the theatre has regained its original imperial title: the Mariinsky.The opening of the Mariinsky Theatre heralded a golden period in St Petersburg's operatic history. There, in 1862, Verdi's La forza del destino received its world premiere, in the presence of the composer. Many Western works, translated into Russian,
quickly found their way onto the Mariinsky stage and, at the same time, the flourishing of Russian opera led to the premieres of such national masterpieces as Boris Godunov (1874), Prince lgor (1890), and The Queen of Spades (1890).
In 1869 the Czech-born conductor Eduard Napravnik became chief conductor, a post he held until his death 47 years later. During this period he conducted almost all the premieres in the Mariiinsky and raised it to a position among the world's leading opera houses. Western composers such as Wagner, Mahler amd Berlioz came to the theatre, and sections of The Ring and Tristan were performed by the Mariinsky's orchestra before they were heard in Bayreuth. At this time, the ballet was equally distinguished under its director Marius Petipa. In the 1890s its premieres of Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and Raymonda influenced the development of classical dance.
At the beginning of this century such legendary artists as Chaliapin, Pavlova and Nijinsky performed at the theatre, and productions were designed by Russia's leading artists, including Korovin, Golovin, Bakst, Benois and Vasnetsov. During the I920s the young Soviet regime was still open to new artistic developments: in 1927 Wozzeck was performed at the State Academic Theatre (as the Mariinsky was then known), 25 yeats before its British premiere at Covent Garden. In recent years, foreign tours have brought both the Kirov Opera and Ballet to international recognition and acclaim.
In 1988 Valery Gergiev was appointed Artistic Director of the Kirov Opera. In his first season the theatre presented a festival of five Musorgsky operas, including Khovanshchina, which was televised throughout the Soviet Union and Europe. Part of this series was taken to the Edinburgh International Festival in 1991.
The theatre celebrated Prokofiev's centenary in 1991 with new productions of The Gambler, War and Peace (broadcast live to Britain by the BBC), Love for Three Oranges, and Fiery Angel. In February 1994 the Kirov Opera commemorated the 150th anniversary ofRimsky-Korsakov s birth with a festival of concerts, the operas Sadko, Maid of Pskov, Kashchei the Immortal, and The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh.
In April 1990 Gergiev and the Kirov Opera presented Andrei Tarkovsky's Boris Godunov, originally created for Covent Garden. The live broadcast to Britain from the Mariinsky Theatre was the first transmission of its kind from St Petersburg. In April 1992 the Kirov Opera and Ballet gave a gala at the Royal Opera House in the presence of HRH The Princess of Wales.
Entitled Welcome Back, St Petersburg, the gala was broadcast by the BBC and released on video. In recent years the Kirov Opera has toured worldwide, performing in England, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Scotland, Spain and America. It made its US debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1992. Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra have subsequently given two acclaimed American tours. The full Kirov Opera visited Japan for the first time in 1993, giving a series of concerts and stage performances of Fiery Angel, Boris Godunov, and The Queen of Spades. This autumn they return to Japan for an extensive orchestral tour. In 1994 the Kirov Opera made its Paris debut with a three-week residency at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees.
The company returns to the Champs-Elysees in February 1996 for performances of The Gambler and Prince lgor. Last year the Kirov Opera gave an acclaimed performance at the Barbican Hall, presented by Friends of the Kirov Opera, and last August they appeared at the Edinburgh lnternational Festival and Birmingham's Symphony Hall.
The Kirov Opera has an extensive recording schedule with Philips Classics, and releases so far include Khovanshchina, War and Peace, The Queen of Spades, Sadko, Prince lgor, and Fiery Angel. Future releases will include Iolanta, Ruslan and Ludmila, Maid of Pskov, Kashchei the Immortal, and Kitezh. Video releases include Khovanshchina, War and Peace, The Queen of Spades, and Sadko.
In 1992 Placido Domingo made his Kirov debut in Otello at the Santander Festival. This was repeated at the Mariinsky Theatre and broadcast on television throughout the CIS. Plans are being discussed for further performances by Domingo at the Mariinsky.
In St Petersburg, the Mariinsky Theatre is the centerpiece of the famous White Nights Festival, held annually during the last ten days of June. The 1995 festival included the Mariinsky Theatre's first production of Shostakovich's Katerina Izmailova, Aida in an historic production from La Scala, and a new Salome directed by June Taymor. The festival also paid tribute to the early Russian works of Igor Stravinsky, with new stagings of Mavra and and Le Rossignol and several concerts including Rite of Spring, The Firebird and Les Noces.
During the 1995-96 season, new productions will include Carmen with Olga Borodina and Mariss Jansons, Prokofiev's The Duenna, La forza del destino in Verdi's original version composed for the Mariinsky Theatre, The Gambler (a co-production with La Scala), and Prince Igor.
The 1996 White Nights Festival (June 20-30) will feature many of these new productions.
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The services of A Distant Light™ are available to all adult persons of good character, everywhere in the world. Our prospective foreign brides now number more than 39,000, representing some 60 nations.
Ladies are welcome to submit their profiles for publication, without charge, on our Web sites. Gentlemen who want to promote themselves to the ladies can publish their profiles in our magazine.
A Distant Light™ Romance Tours by A Foreign Affair are extraordinary travel adventures. Beyond the excitement of exploring faraway places, imagine having a lovely woman
like one of those featured here – or one of many hundreds of other beautiful hearts – as your companion and guide. Consider the possibility of her becoming a lifetime companion. This could happen for you!
If you don't have a special lady in mind to meet, where would you like to go exploring? To find which of our tours appeals to you most, begin at the Romance Tours Index. If you've chosen one of the foreign sweethearts who lives far from any of our Romance Tours destinations, or you prefer to meet independently, we can provide Travel Information to help facilitate your meeting.
And for an uplifting example of romance gone right, take time to enjoy the Web site of Jeffrey and Emelda Hollis. Screenwriter Jeff's engaging stories of courtship and marriage with Emelda (who is absolutely adorable) will touch your heart.
Across the Orient, elegant traditional costumes like the blue dress worn by the lady at right are de rigueur for any formal affair. Every woman who can possibly afford it owns at least one such outfit, in the style that is characteristic of her particular culture.
If such a woman were eventually to become your bride, one of her gifts to you would be to dress this way, on special occasions, to please
you and make you feel proud of her. One of your gifts to her would be to create many such opportunities for her to enjoy with you.
Imagine the heads your lady would turn, and the tremendous pride you would take in having her walk by your side.
Such considerations, by themselves, do not constitute grounds for marriage, but they can be among the potential rewards of a well-founded multicultural partnership.
~~~
Who Is This Elegant Lady?
In the sections immediately preceding and following this, we feature a total of 25 of the beautiful women of eastern Asia. Most are shown wearing contemporary Western-style attire. Here, we present one of those same ladies adorned in styles that are traditional to her culture. Bearing in mind that her assorted photographs may have been taken at various times, can you recognize which of our featured Asian women this is? (When you are ready, click on either of these pictures to see her profile.)
Foreign Courtship Advice and Recommendations From the Editors of A Distant Light™
Q: I'd prefer to meet a woman immediately than to first correspond with her at length. Wouldn't that be the more effective approach?
A: The answer depends upon what you hope to accomplish.
For men whose objective is simply to get away for a well-deserved vacation, one of our Romance Tours could be the travel adventure of a lifetime, with abundant
opportunities for dating attractive (often stunningly attractive) single women who genuinely desire to meet them. AFA takes care of all the details, and clients can enjoy meeting new friends almost immediately.
For those whose purpose is to identify and meet potential life partners, however, there is no substitute for adequate preparation. Clients who lack the necessary patience to establish and develop meaningful relationships before rushing to meet the prospective foreign brides might succeed in finding suitable partners within the context of a Romance Tour, but it shouldn't require a rocket scientist to calculate that their chances of connecting with the right one among hundreds of available women will be substantially limited.
The interests of men who are disinclined to correspond might be better served by local dating agencies than by an international introductions agency such as A Distant Light™.
Q: Why write to several prospective foreign brides at one time? Wouldn't that just diffuse my efforts, and risk offending all of them?
A: You can more objectively evaluate the suitability of potential partners, and be less reluctant to downplay any relationships that fail to show promise, if you have a variety of available alternatives.
Besides, experience has shown that even very well written letters of introduction to single foreign women seeking marriage
can be expected to elicit favorable responses in only about 50 percent of instances. Typical letters to women looking for husbands might draw favorable responses in only 30 to 40 percent of instances. Although the prospective foreign brides are eager to find life partners, generally they are not desperate. (If they were desperate, you shouldn't want them!) Rather, they will be as careful about selecting their partners as you should be. Some rejections are therefore to be expected, and shouldn't be taken personally because the women don't know you personally.
Also, about half of the women who initially are receptive may decide, after further evaluation, to continue their searches.
So, if you were to approach,
say, a dozen prospective foreign brides, you might realistically expect to be able to choose, eventually, among two or perhaps three of them. (Remember, though, that this is based on statistical data, from which your individual experience may differ.)
Generally speaking, you'll do better to maintain a balanced perspective and improve your chances of success by beginning, on a casual basis, with as many prospective foreign brides as you can comfortably manage, and progressively narrowing the field as relationships develop. The women shouldn't object to this reasonable approach if you are honest with them, you respect their feelings and they understand that your intention is to find the most suitable partner, which, after all, is in the best interests of everyone.
Foreign sweethearts are more likely to become the foreign brides of gentlemen who demonstrate an interest in, and some knowledge of, their native cultures. A Lonely Planet ® Travel Survival Kit™ can be helpful. Besides the practical advice for travelers, they provide some historical background and discuss relevant social, political and economic aspects of modern society.
You can benefit from the experiences (both good and bad) of others, in the pursuit of intercultural relationships, by referring to these worthwhile additional foreign brides resources. And remember, at A Distant Light™ we're here to help! You can contact us by phone, fax, e-mail or postal mail, or visit us (no appointment is necessary during regular business hours) at any of the AFA offices worldwide.
"Love is eternal. The aspect may change, but not the essence. There is the same difference in a person, before and after he is in love, as there is in an unlighted lamp and one that is burning. The lamp was there and was a good lamp, but now it is shedding light, too – and that is its real function."
This popular American singer and songwriter of German and Brazilian descent is admired by generations of music lovers everywhere. Her name is practically synonymous with the bossa nova style of her native Brazil, and her endearing voice can be one of the most seductive on the planet. Yet, there is more to be said of this remarkable woman, of which you may have been unaware. She is also a talented graphic artist. Through sales of the reproductions and prints of her original artworks (which can make unforgettable gifts, especially when signed by the artist herself), she supports efforts to protect animals from mistreatment. Please see the charming (if, at times, necessarily intense) Web pages that have been created,
with love, by this profoundly beautiful human being,
[The Editors of A Distant Light™ are privileged to express our appreciation of Ms. Gilberto and her work. Ms. Gilberto is not a participant in our service.]
New Profiles Women's Profiles Tours
The Mariinsky Theatre was founded in 1783 following a decree by Empress Catherine the Great to stage the first Russian comic operas and the best works by foreign composers.
The current theatre was built on a site that had been a circus, opposite the Italian Bolshoi Theatre in Carousel Square. Today this area is known as Theatre Square, and the Italian opera house has long ago made way for the famous St. Petersburg Conservatory, named after Rimsky-Korsakov who taught there for nearly 40 years.Designed by the architect Caves, the theatre, opened in 1860, was named for Maria, wife of the reigning Tsar Alexander II.Known during the Soviet era as the Kirov, after a Russian revolutionary leader, the theatre has regained its original imperial title: the Mariinsky.The opening of the Mariinsky Theatre heralded a golden period in St Petersburg's operatic history. There, in 1862, Verdi's La forza del destino received its world premiere, in the presence of the composer. Many Western works, translated into Russian,
quickly found their way onto the Mariinsky stage and, at the same time, the flourishing of Russian opera led to the premieres of such national masterpieces as Boris Godunov (1874), Prince lgor (1890), and The Queen of Spades (1890).
In 1869 the Czech-born conductor Eduard Napravnik became chief conductor, a post he held until his death 47 years later. During this period he conducted almost all the premieres in the Mariiinsky and raised it to a position among the world's leading opera houses. Western composers such as Wagner, Mahler amd Berlioz came to the theatre, and sections of The Ring and Tristan were performed by the Mariinsky's orchestra before they were heard in Bayreuth. At this time, the ballet was equally distinguished under its director Marius Petipa. In the 1890s its premieres of Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and Raymonda influenced the development of classical dance.
The theatre celebrated Prokofiev's centenary in 1991 with new productions of The Gambler, War and Peace (broadcast live to Britain by the BBC), Love for Three Oranges, and Fiery Angel. In February 1994 the Kirov Opera commemorated the 150th anniversary ofRimsky-Korsakov s birth with a festival of concerts, the operas Sadko, Maid of Pskov, Kashchei the Immortal, and The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh.
The company returns to the Champs-Elysees in February 1996 for performances of The Gambler and Prince lgor. Last year the Kirov Opera gave an acclaimed performance at the Barbican Hall, presented by Friends of the Kirov Opera, and last August they appeared at the Edinburgh lnternational Festival and Birmingham's Symphony Hall.
