I had been to the traditional Mariinsky once before when it still had its Soviet name the Kirov Theatre. It's a fabulous place to see opera and ballet and to watch the Petersburg aficionados. We saw the opera 'Sadko' by Rimsky Korsakov which is four hours long with two intervals and composed of seven tableaux. It is an entrancing fairy tale with a Sea Princess and other entertaining characters. The staging was gorgeous. It is well worth seeing even if you're not an opera fan. The surtitles were in both Russian and English which helped a lot. We had seats in the first level of the galleries in box 15. Great view. But some other people in the box had shuffled the chairs around and tried to take the front row chairs we had paid more for. Fortunately, the competent usher sorted it all out. Another night we went to the new Mariinsky 2 theatre and it is jaw droppingly beautiful with the foyers lined with illuminated onyx. Wow. The acoustics are superb in the theatre and we loved the production of Richard Strauss' opera 'Die Frau ohne Schatten' - The Woman without a Shadow. Book via the Mariinsky website. We had no trouble at all with booking or with presenting the tickets we had printed at home. Watch out for expensive online scalper sites. Book direct with the Mariinsky (and the Bolshoi in Moscow).

This historic theater has been very well maintained and is well worth a visit. We saw the Nutcracker here in early January 2020 and weren't sure what to expect. However, the audience was engaged and respectful (despite some things I'd read to the contrary), and the performance itself was breathtaking. It was interesting that there were two intermissions (the first one after only 30 minutes!). I noticed that many people pre-ordered food/drinks and had them waiting for them at tables in the small cafes there. If you're interested in eating or drinking during these short breaks, I would recommend going that route. Otherwise, the lines can be quite long. The theater itself is absolutely beautiful and well worth a look, even if you aren't going for a show.