Vaslav Nijinsky, Rudolf Nureyev, Feodor Chaliapin, Marius Petipa and all the great ballet and opera stars performed at the Mariinsky (1859), famous for its breath-takingly beautiful decor (mouldings, soft velvet seats and a stage curtain painted by Alexander Golovin in 1914). Of international standing, the theatre has a new hall, linked to the historic edifice by a passageway, located in a highly modern structure (2 000 seats) and a wing a few minutes away.