Two-thousand turned out for a gala ceremony to open Russia’s new Mariinsky Theatre; a ballet and opera house in Saint Petersburg.

It sits beside the historic 19th century Mariinsky Theatre, the birthplace of ballets such as Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty.

President Vladimir Putin says it has ”everything you need for a theatre”.

The 80-thousand sq ft glass and limestone building, which ranks amongst the most expensive cultural projects ever built, was completed by Canadian-firm Diamond and Schmitt Associates.  

The theatre’s director says he picked the architects because they had just completed the Toronto opera house.