Русский
Russia’s Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Valery Gergiev, undertook a first comprehensive acoustic rehearsal at the newly constructed Sirius Concert Hall in Sochi. The rehearsal took place on Saturday (July 26) as part of the Sirius Summer Music Festival, which is currently running from July 15 to August 24.
According to Gergiev, the Sirius Concert Hall is set to become a premier cultural destination for theater and classical music enthusiasts, particularly during the summer and autumn seasons.
Construction of the Sirius Concert Hall began in 2020 and includes two state-of-the-art performance spaces with acoustics designed by Yasuhisa Toyota, a globally acclaimed sound engineer. Sirius is a region of Sochi and was the venue for the 2014 Winter Olympics.
The Russian architectural firm Velesstroy has been building the Sirius Concert Hall, designed to be a one-of-a-kind world-class concert and theatre centre that will hold classical music concerts, opera and ballet performances, variety shows and gala-concerts.
The 11-storey building is 50 metres high with a total area of approximately 50,000 sq. metres, and will have two halls for 300 and 1,200 spectators respectively. One of the most significant process elements of the stage complex is a single-piece moving acoustic orchestra pit. It is concealed inside the backstage of the main hall and moves out to house the orchestra during concert programmes.
Gergiev expressed great admiration for the venue’s acoustic qualities, saying they not only satisfied but genuinely impressed the orchestra. He emphasized the hall’s versatility, noting its ability to support productions with a full orchestra pit and flexible seating arrangements.
The conductor also praised the Chamber Hall, which is already operational and can accommodate up to 75 musicians—a rare capacity for chamber halls worldwide. Gergiev suggested it could host large chamber works such as Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro.
The Sirius event provided musicians and acoustics experts a crucial opportunity to evaluate the hall’s sound quality ahead of its official opening scheduled for October this year.
Elena Shmeleva, chair of the Council of the Sirius Federal Territory and director of the Talent and Success Foundation, said the rehearsal marks the start of a new chapter for Russian arts, highlighting the hall as part of a broader initiative to foster artistic excellence and international cooperation.
Gergiev has been testing the new venue shortly after having a planned July 27 concert cancelled in Italy in protest of Russia’s conflict with Ukraine. That event had been sold out.
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