Mikhail Tatarnikov, a protege of Valery Gergiev’s, has been announced as music director of the ambitious Mikhailovsky Theatre. Tatarnikov is a rising talent. The Mikhailovsky recently snatched two star dancers from the Bolshoi. Gergiev need not fear the threat on his doorstep. Not yet.

Here’s the release:
Vladimir Kekhman, General Director and Alexander Arkhipov Deputy General Director of the Mikhailovsky Theatre issued a press release today:
“The young musician from the St. Petersburg conducting school, who has worked at the Mariinsky Theatre for five years, will take up his new post on 1 January 2012.
The appointment opens up new creative opportunities for Tatarnikov, who is known as a consummate professional in the musical world, and is immensely popular with audiences.
This season Mikhail will conduct Nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni at Opera de Bordeaux, Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, the Viva Musica Festival in Bratislava and numerous performances at the Mikhailovsky and Mariinsky Theatres in St.Petersburg. In future seasons he will conduct Eugene Onegin at Teatro alla Scala Milan, Rusalka at Bayerische Staatsoper, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra Love for Three Oranges at Latvian National Opera and Cunning Little Vixen at Lille Opera.
Past seasons he has conducted numerous operas and concerts at the Mariinsky Theatre as well as with the Gävle Symphony, Russian National Orchestra (in Dresden, Germany and for his US debut at the Mann Center in Philadelphia), Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo (with Vilde Frang), a new production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin at the Latvian National Opera in Riga, Novosibirsk Philharmonic, St Petersburg State Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatoire orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia. Mikhail has worked with many renowned soloists including Anna Netrebko, Vilde Frang and Vadim Repin.

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