In early September, the new seasons will open at two of Russia’s largest theaters — the Bolshoi and Mariinsky. Valery Gergiev will conduct all the inaugural events of the new seasons in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The new 242nd season at the Mariinsky Concert Hall will open on September 5th. On this evening, Beethoven’s masterpiece, celebrating its 200th anniversary this year — the Solemn Mass, will be performed, featuring a large symphony orchestra, organ, mixed choir, and soloists. On September 6th, at Mariinsky-2, the new season will open with Modest Mussorgsky’s monumental opera “Khovanshchina.” On September 14th (on the historical stage), the first performance of the season will be Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” in the legendary production by Yuri Temirkanov. On September 17th, the ballet season will open at the Mariinsky Theater — audiences will be treated to Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake.” The main roles will be performed by Viktoria Tereshkina and Kimin Kim. The performance will be dedicated to the anniversary of the outstanding teacher Marina Alexandrovna Vasilyeva. At the Bolshoi Theater, the new 249th season will start on September 7th. At 12:00, on the Historical Stage of the Bolshoi Theater, under the direction of Valery Gergiev, the “1812 Overture” and the cantata “Moscow” by Tchaikovsky, as well as Prokofiev’s cantata “Alexander Nevsky” will be performed. In the evening, at 19:00, on the Historical Stage of the Bolshoi Theater, audiences will see the premiere of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s ballet “Sleeping Beauty.” The choreography by Marius Petipa will be presented in the choreographic edition by Yuri Grigorovich, with scenography by Simon Virsaladze, and the revival choreographer — Regina Nikiforova. The main roles will be performed by Elizaveta Kokoreva and Artem Ovcharenko. The conductor will be maestro Valery Gergiev. A public broadcast of the performance will take place on Theater Square on a large screen installed in front of the Historical Stage of the Bolshoi Theater. The live broadcast can be seen at the “October” cinema in Moscow and in more than 100 of Russia’s largest cinemas. Additionally, the live broadcast will be available online — on the official Bolshoi Theater page on VKontakte.