RUSSIANS SERVE US AN ULTRA-GENEROUS SYMPHONIC PROGRAM
The renowned conductor Valery Gergiev returned to the Bay Area, a generation after his leadership role in the San Francisco Opera’s brief heyday of Russian opera. This time, he was touring with the elite Mariinsky Orchestra of St. Petersburg. If you want him in opera, these days you have to fly to the Met in New York or beyond. The Mariinsky (formerly Kirov) Orchestra poured out its Russian soul Nov. 4 with an intriguing lesser-gems program of early 20th century composers…