Saint Petersburg (Russia) - Event

Since 1993, under its indefatigable director, Valery Gergiev, St Petersburg's famous Mariinsky Theatre has hosted the Stars of the White Nights festival during early summer. The 16th festival in 2008 celebrated the 225th anniversary of the Mariinsky Theatre itself.

Recently the Festivals programme has included the works created by the great classical composers - Beethoven symphonies, Prokofiev's and Tchaikovsky's operas, ballets and symphony music. Major events have included the production of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, in addition to the Shostakovich and Mahler Symphonies series.