Alain Maratrat | St. Petersburg | actor and director | Soviet Union

"Something is gone and I miss it terribly," he says. "People were not talking money, money 20 years ago because there was a certain support for everyone. Maybe it was a wrong system, all in all. But then came a very painful period when people would sometimes sell their soul in order to be paid somehow, which is not good for art. All these troubles made things unclear. There were huge changes, and economically, everything nearly collapsed. It may be five or 10 years before things are clear."

THOUGH AFFECTION FOR THE SIMPLER times of the Soviet Union lingers, Gergiev has a knack for capitalistic enterprise. As general director, he has overseen a wide expansion of the Mariinsky - the various companies now perform about 400 shows a year, and on some days, three different groups can be found on stages on three different continents. Some critics say the talent is spread too thin, but those who travel to St. Petersburg in order to work with Gergiev say he manages to find and train an amazing corps of young, talented musicians and dancers.

Alain Maratrat, a French actor and director who came to the Mariinsky this summer to direct an opera during the White Nights festival, says he has been overwhelmed by the quality of the singers in St. Petersburg. He says they easily surpass the singers he has been scouting at France's finest music academies. He credits Gergiev, in part, for this abundance of talent.

"In this theater he has something very special," Maratrat says. "Now we feel that something is alive here. And I think it's because Gergiev can attract people with quality. I think what is fantastic is his desire. He makes a place inside himself to receive the music, and it's very internal. You see some conductors move, to show that they understand the music, and to show they lead the music, and it's bull. It doesn't mean anything. Music is like a mystery, every time. People are touched by something that makes them bigger, larger, happy. And Gergiev recognizes when this appears."