While Sydney and the NSW Government flounders over making a decision to either do major renovations to the Opera Theatre of the Sydney Opera House, or build a new lyric theatre, Russia and St Petersburg have sufficient confidence in the importance of the arts and Russian culture to build a second lyric theatre for the Mariinsky, currently referred to as the Mariinsky II.

Following an International design competition, the winning design was jettisoned in favour of the above design by Jack Diamond, a principal of the Canadian Firm – Diamond Schmitt. Diamond also designed the highly successful Four Seasons Opera House in Montreal completed only a few years ago. Diamond Schmitt has the following to say about the project:

“To be entrusted with the opportunity to design a cultural centerpiece like the New Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia brings more than design issues to the table. There is the challenge of working at a great distance from the project, coming to understand and collaborating with people who have a different cultural sensibility and not least of all, the weight of carrying forward the tradition of the greats of Russian musical and ballet history. Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Diaghilev are just a few of the names associated with the Mariinsky company for whom Diamond and Schmitt is building its home for the 21st Century under the leadership of maestro Valery Gergiev.

As the new theatre sits adjacent to the original Mariinsky Theatre (1860), a respectful balance of design is required to not upstage its venerable predecessor. Jack Diamond had to find a contemporary expression of the historical principles of the Beaux Arts tradition of St. Petersburg and present them in the proper context with the surroundings. Clearly, this is not to be a design that dominates and draws attention to itself as this would jar with the existing urban scheme of this uniformly attractive city.

The thinking for this performance space is to remove the mystique and exclusiveness that predominates among earlier European concert hall design. By establishing a strong interaction between the street life and the public rooms of the hall, the New Mariinsky becomes more accessible, less intimidating, more transparent and overall a more engaging experience with a heightened discourse between the inside and out, which is a new concept for the Russians.  The traditional Piano Nobile public rooms typically found on the second tier of theatres is brought to street level and revealed through glazing.

Another challenge is to introduce a contemporary palette to the theatre. The auditorium has a wood interior rather than traditional plaster and gilt. The aesthetic and acoustical attributes of this design had to be conveyed to the client as a re-interpretation of traditional precepts and represents gaining a new psychological connection with how the room conveys music and performance and the interconnection with the audience. The traditional Tsar’s (or VIP) box is respected in this design, maintained and adapted to co-ordinate with a contemporary aesthetic.

Working in Russia on such a high profile, government-funded, culturally charged assignment brings with it a mix of open economy thinking and entrenched Old School Soviet-era bureaucracy to accommodate.

Structurally, St. Petersburg is built on a swamp, situated as it is on a river delta. The history of building there is fraught with struggle. During the era of Tsar Peter I, who founded the city in 1703, and Catherine the Great, 30,000 lives were lost in building the grand infrastructure. Flooding remained a serious threat until the end of the 19th-century. The New Mariinsky has 800 piles underneath the foundation and three levels of below grade programming, which is highly unusual for the city, but necessary for the services and functionality of the theatre.

There is also the challenge of great expectations to deliver a superior theatre, not only for the stakeholders but also for the public for whom Diamond and Schmitt has been entrusted to elevate the legacy that is the Mariinsky Theatre.”

Meanwhile in Sydney, rumours waft around again concerning the proposed internal rebuilding of the Opera Theatre of the Sydney Opera House. Despite a total lack of financial commitment by any government – either State or Federal, a start date of 2015 is now mooted with a construction period of 9 years and a cost blowout to $Billion 1.2 !!

Perhaps Mr Diamond should be invited to Sydney to design a new opera theatre the National opera company needs and deserves. Rumour has it that senior executives of Opera Australia would prefer a new purpose built lyric theatre rather than risk continued problems with a rebuilt Opera Theatre in the Sydney Opera House which may remain incapable of providing the required space for a completely satisfactory lyric theatre comparable to those in other States.