Qualla: Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre

Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre: Introduction

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit No machine-readable author provided. D V S assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY 2.5. They call it Tchaikovsky's House, and the name is not honorary decoration. All ten of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's operas and all three of his ballets are performed in the repertoire of the Perm Tchaikovsky Opera and Ballet Theatre -- the full catalog of stage works by a composer born in this region of the Urals. Since its inauguration in 1870, the theatre has grown from a provincial stage into one of Russia's most important musical institutions, a place where the Leningrad ballet company sheltered during World War II and where the Diaghilev Seasons festival now draws international audiences annually.

Image: No machine-readable author provided. D V S assumed (based on copyright claims). | CC BY 2.5

Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre: Opening Night, 1870

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Vyacheslav Bukharov, CC BY-SA 4.0. The theatre inaugurated on November 24, 1870, with a performance of Mikhail Glinka's A Life for the Tsar. The building itself came later, constructed between 1874 and 1879, with the first performance in the new structure during the winter of 1879-1880. A turning point arrived in ...

Image: Vyacheslav Bukharov | CC BY-SA 4.0

Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre: Wartime Refuge

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Тара-Амингу at Russian Wikipedia, CC0. When World War II reached Leningrad, the Leningrad State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet -- known today as the Mariinsky -- evacuated its personnel to Perm. For three winters and two summers, the Mariinsky's artists performed on the Perm stage. The arrangement was more than ...

Image: Тара-Амингу at Russian Wikipedia | CC0

Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre: Balanchine in the Urals

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Георгий Долгопский, CC BY-SA 4.0. The theatre's ballet troupe, which performs internationally as The Tchaikovsky Ballet, has built its reputation through collaborations that bridge Russian tradition and Western choreography. Long-term partnerships with the George Balanchine Foundation and the Jerome Robbins Found...

Image: Георгий Долгопский | CC BY-SA 4.0

Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre: Diaghilev Comes Home

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Luchsvet, CC BY-SA 4.0. Sergei Diaghilev, the impresario who revolutionized ballet in Europe with the Ballets Russes, was born in the Perm region. The theatre honors that connection through the Diaghilev Seasons festival -- 'Perm-Petersburg-Paris' -- held since 2003, initially biennial and annually sinc...

Image: Luchsvet | CC BY-SA 4.0