It's interesting to think about why exactly in Russia, Peter in particular, the arts are assigned so much importance when they aren't in many other cultures. Now, that's a rather philosophical subject to breach, but I think it's more something to ponder than to answer directly.
One notion I have is that is has something to do with the incredible darkness here. It's not yet November and already the sun has begun to set before 5pm. I think that plays a large part in why Russians deem art as important to the human soul as they do. In the dead of winter, when the most daylight one gets is limited to a cold, grey glow around noon, there is little to warm the cockles of your heart except for coffee, chocolate, and the warmth of the stage.
I have been here nearly a month, and have been to the theatre seven times - one opera, one contemporary ballet performance, I've gone twice to the Mariinsky II, once to the Mikhailovsky Theatre, and twice to the conservatory's ballet productions (surprisingly well done for a small troupe). There is something about both the excitement with which people approach an evening at the theatre, and also the absolute casual nature that one mentions going to a ballet or opera, that I find refreshing and unusual. In the States, one might ask, "Oh, you're going to the ballet? The opera? The symphony? Why, what's the occasion?" and there will always be one, either a birthday or an anniversary or something of that nature.
Here in Peter, one simple goes to the theatre because one fancies an evening out. Because it's beautiful, it's enjoyable, and it's just what people do. Everyone, of all ages, enjoys the ballet. For me, an American, to be currently residing in a culture where that is the way things are, is indescribably joyful. Coming from Seattle where, unfortunately, more often than not the theatre is half empty for a ballet, I can't help but smile triumphantly to myself when the lady at the ticket booth brusquely tells me that there are no longer any tickets left for sale for the performance in question.
I've recently been the the new stage of the Mariinsky Theatre twice - once to see Alexei Ratmansky's ballet Anna Karenina, and most recently to see George Balanchine's neoclassical masterpiece of a ballet, Jewels. My professor of Russian Language at the conservatory commented that she's been several times to the Mariinsky II and that she feels the auditorium is much too large, too expansive, and that she can't "feel herself" in the space; my new friend and unofficial mentor at the conservatory commented dryly that the locals in Peter call the Mariinsky II the "city hall". After having been to the new stage, I can say I agree with both opinions. While there were things I did not like about it, I did love the light.
The entire interior of the building seems to have been inspired by the famous Amber Room in Catherine Palace in nearby town Tsarskoe Selo/Pushkin. Its warm, golden light can be felt all around as one strolls through the knots of people clustered about the halls during intermission. There are long ropes of crystal tears, or raindrops maybe, that refract the radiance cast by the walls and by the lights shining from above each section of crystals. They seem to harken to the rain which most likely awaits us outside when we will inevitably have to leave the golden theatre, the tears we may have shed during a particularly emotional aria, and also the joy that will (like bubbles) fizz out of us for days after our theatre outing.
I have always loved the arts. I have always treasured my memories of the theatre, carefully planned and anxiously anticipated my next visit. But since coming here, I now begin to understand why the theatre and the arts are so important.
The theatre is not only a joy, but an absolute necessity, because it provides us with those three things which hardest to come by in Russian winter, and which are so essential to human happiness - light, warmth, and community.