This Week in St. Petersburg!

What's going on this week!

Happy Monday everybody, I hope you all had a great weekend! We need to remember our friends in Japan who are going through a horrible catastrophe, and do anything we can to help and support those who have lost so much! It is a troubling time for the people of Japan, and as they move forward in their recovery we need to be there willing to help in anyway possible. So check out your local red cross or find some ways to collect materials and supplies that you can donate and send to Japan!

Back to the what's going on this week, lets have a brief look of what you can look forward to this week. Here is a brief recap of this week's events:

Monday March 14th
- Requiem (Verdi) - concert at the Mariinsky Theatre Concert Hall. Requiem is a musical setting of the Roman Catholic funeral mass for four soloists, double choir and orchestra. The concert will feature the soloists Victoria Yastrebova (soprano), Zlata Bulychev (mezzo-soprano), Stanislav Leontiev (tenor), and Yuri Vorobyov (bass) along with the choir and orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre.
- From Avant-garde to the Present Day - XX International Festival of Arts at the Philharmonic. The show will feature Shchedrin "Naughty Limericks," Mosolov "Factory Music Machines,"Khachaturian - Concert for Piano and Orchestra, and Shostakovich - Suite from the ballet Bolt.

Tuesday March 15th
- Alfred Schnittke - Concert for choir on the poems of Grigor of Narek at the Church on Spilled Blood. March 13th marked 130 years since the tragic death of Emperor Alexander II. The concert will be devoted to the memory of the Tsar-liberator. The concert will feature the Chamber Choir of Smolny Cathedral.
- MOP - the rap group from NYC will have a concert at "The Waiting Room"(Club Ozhidanie). The show also will include the best rap artists of St. Petersburg, including: Smokey Mo, Cripple, clip, FIKE & JAMBAZI, BESS & BIG D, RENA, PARTYMAKER_STEF, SWAGGA MUSIC, Witek et al, and B-BOX SHOW by MARK.

Wednesday March 16th
- Hockey - SKA vs Atlant (1/2 final conference) at the Ice Palace to try and keep their playoff hopes alive!
- Three Sisters by Chekov - MDT (Maly Drama Threatre). This is one of my favorites.

Thursday March 17th- ST. PATRICK'S DAy!!! - there will be celebrations all over the city, especially in the many Irish Pubs. I personally plan on going the The Other Side bar on Bolshiya Konushuniya to hear Jarlath McGuckin play a set of Irish songs! Jarlath is an American/Irishman living in St. Petersburg for 5 years, he is a local favorite along with this bad the Dudes.
- Soccer - Zenit v FC Twente at Petrovski Stadium. Zenit lost 0-3 in the first leg, they'll need to win big if they hope to advance in the Europa League. GO ZENIT!!!
- Other than celebrating St. Patrick's Day or going to cheer on Zenit, you shouldn't be doing anything else in St. Petersburg on Thursday!

Friday March 18th
- Exposition/show of Live Tropical Butterflies at the Palm Greenhouse of Tavricheski Sad. The show will last from 11:00 - 20:00 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
- The birthday celebration of Valery Leontiev at October Concert Hall. It has become tradition for Leontiev, who in 1996 was the people's artists of Russia, to celebrate his birthday in St. Petersburg. 
- Vaudeville AP Chekhov. Two one-act plays, The Bear and The Offer, at the Yuspov Palace Theatre. This is your chance to see a play in the wonderful Yuspov Palace that I recently told you about!
- Alai Oli concert at Club Cosmonaut. Alai Oli is a Russian reggae band from the Urals, very popular in Russia. They have received lots of acclaim as well as criticism, should be an interesting show.
- Dead Souls premiere at the Mariinsky Threatre. Opera scenes from the poem of Gogol in three acts.

Saturday March 19th- Nina Karlsson concert at Club Jet Set Sports. Nina Karlsson is the lead singer of a St. Petersburg trio formed in 2008, she composes the music and writes the songs herself, with many songs in English.
- Cohen Brothers film night at Dom Kino, True Grit, Serious Man, and Intolerable Cruelty will be shown.
- Always a good time to check out the Circus on the Fontanka also!

Sunday March 20th
- Anna Karenina, ballet in 2 acts based on the novel by Lev Tolstoy, at the Mariinsky Theatre.
- Nikolay Noskov concert at the October Concert Hall. Noskov is a Russian singer and former vocalist of the hard rock band Gorky Park.
- Bravo (Браво) Concert at Club Cosmonaut.
- Raekwon concert at GlavClub. Raekwon is an American rapper and member of the Wu-Tang Clan.

Hope everyone has a great week!