This post is about the Kirov Ballet and Opera House stamp from 1983. In that year, the Soviet Union celebrated the 200th anniversary of the this important institution with a beautiful postage stamp. The stamp is part of a particular genre within music-themed postage stamps that feature buildings dedicated to the performing arts. For example, this blog also features posts about stamps celebrating the La Scala theater in Milan and the Beethovenhalle in Bonn.
Of course, as this blog is fond of pointing out, postage stamps are political documents. Indeed, there is usually a very specific political reason to feature a person, topic, or theme on a postage stamp. The choice reveals something about the motives of the government that issues it. Consequently, in this context, the choice to feature an opera house or symphony hall, makes great sense.
These marquee buildings are impressive structures. For one thing, their imposing architecture is intended to serve, and represent, the elite of the country. They are places where the economic, political, intellectual, and artistic elite come together. As a result, in many countries, state funds build these important national symbols.
The Theater
Wikimedia Commons
The Imperial Opera and Ballet Troupe began in 1783 in St. Petersburg. However, the current building was only constructed in 1860. It was given the name, the Mariinsky Theater, in honor of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, the wife of Tsar Alexander II. A bust of the Empress is inside the entrance to the building. After the Revolution, the building became the Kirov Theater, named after Sergey Kirov, a Soviet leader. Later, the theater reclaimed its original name after the Soviet Union fell.
Significantly, the theater was the site of the premiere of Tchaikovsky’ The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and the definitive version of Swan Lake. It also premiered operas including Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov, Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Golden Cockerel, and Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades. The Mariinsky also hosted the premiere of the revised versions of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet ballet and Khachaturian’s ballet Spartacus.
The Stamp
Scott Number 5142
In 1983, the Soviet Union issued a stamp dedicated to this important institution. The design features a beautiful rendition of an engraving of the theater. In addition, the building appears to be emerging from a blue background, that seems to be being pulled aside like a veil. Or maybe more appropriately like a theater curtain.
One item about the stamp causes a bit of confusion. While it features the building, the stamp actually celebrates the creation of the Imperial Ballet and Opera. Founded in 1783, the stamp commemorates their bicentennial.
You may enjoy this scene from Boris Godunov performed at the Mariinsky Theater in 2013.
