Sacred Stage: The Mariinsky Theater

The history of St. Petersburg's famous theater—also known as the Kirov—which houses both a ballet troupe and an opera company, as well as a symphony orchestra, is the subject of this hour-long 2005 documentary narrated by Richard Thomas. Director Joshua Waletzky's almost awestruck film touches on the founding of the theater by Czar Alexander II in 1860 and its 19th-century history, but the emphasis here is on how it survived two major events—the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 and the fall of the Soviet Union—with particular attention given to the latter. The hero of the piece is unquestionably Valery Gergiev, artistic director and chief conductor of the Kirov Orchestra and Opera, a whirlwind of energy who has infused the theater with vitality since 1991. Waletzky includes snippets of interviews with Gergiev, as well as enthusiastic tributes to the Mariinsky from such luminaries as famed tenor Placido Domingo and dance critic Elizabeth Kendall, while also demonstrating the quality of the company's performances with extended excerpts from its productions of Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty and Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov (two of its signature works), as well as rehearsal footage and interviews with some principal singers and dancers. Nicely shot and edited, Sacred Stage is a fine introduction—especially for Western audiences—to a central institution of Russian culture. DVD extras include extended performance and behind the scenes footage. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)