White Nights Foundation of America

Formed in 1999, the White Nights Foundation of America's mission includes a commitment to strengthen and expand the cultural, educational and business relationships between Russia and the United States. As part of this work, the White Nights Foundation of America fosters binational support for Russia's historic Mariinsky Theatre.

The Mariinsky Theatre was founded in 1783 in St. Petersburg as the Bolshoi Stone Theatre. The Mariinsky Theatre was once the prominent music theater of late 19th-century Russia. Many of the stage masterpieces from Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres at the Mariinsky Theater. In the more than 200 years since its founding, the theater has undergone drastic changes in both name and in appearance, but today, the Mariinsky Theatre remains an important cultural institution. It is home to both classical and innovative operas, ballets, and concerts that attract audiences from across the globe.