The General Satellite Corporation (Russia) and Mariinsky Theatre organized the first ever live 3D broadcasting and 3D recording of Giselle

The General Satellite Corporation organized the world's first ever live television broadcast of the ballet in 3D format directly from the Mariinsky Theatre Concert Hall on April 15. Viewers in Russia and Europe for the first time in history watched three-dimensional live transmission of a ballet.  
  
Technical partners for the broadcast were: the Eutelsat, Europe's leading satellite operator, Samsung Electronics, the world leader in digital media technology, and Platform HD, the Russian operator of pay high definition television (HDTV) system.  
  
Maestro Valery Gergiev and the outstanding ballerina Maya Plisetskaya opened the gala evening. Simultaneously, gala concert broadcast in 3D could be seen at the residence of the Russian Ambassador in Paris (as a part of "The Year of Russia in France and the Year of France in Russia), and also at the Swissotel Red Hills in Moscow and at the Mariinsky Theatre itself in St. Petersburg.  

Alexander Orlov, Russian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to France had given a comment to journalists after the show: "I think it is very important and outstanding event, which is part of the Year of Russia in France and it serves two purposes: to show that Russia is still ahead of the rest of the planet in the area of ballet and, in addition, in the field of high technology we also take the lead, because 3D format TV is only beginning to emerge."
In Moscow, guests the official 3D Premiere went upstairs after the press-conference to enjoy the show at the City Space restaurant on to the 33rd floor of the Swissotel Red Hills. It is one of the most unusual restaurants in Moscow, whose windows offer panoramic views of the historic center of the Russian capital.  

Program of the Evening included fragments of the legendary ballets from the "golden fund" of the Mariinsky Theatre performed by Uliana Lopatkina, Catherine Kondaurova, Irma Nioradze, Olesya Novikova, Alina Luba and Igor Zelensky, Ilya Kuznetsov, Leonid Sarafanov, Andrian Fadeev, Vladimir Shklyarov, Anastasia and Denis Matvienko.  
  
Valery Gergiev, Maya Plisetskaya, Rodion Shchedrin, ballet dancers went upstaires to the hall where the 3D broadcast were watched in St. Petersburg, after the concert had been over. Viewers were greatly impressed by the 3D transmission as it was obvious from the expressions on their faces! Artistic Director of the Mariinsky Theatre Valery Gergiev said that «3D - this is very interesting: a ballet is movement, it is color, it is costumes, it is beauty, it is plastique and we will be the first ballet company in the world to show it in a 3D format.»  

Valery Gergiev emphasized the importance of a possibility to cooperate with a Russian company in the area of practical application of a 3D broadcasting and of being able not to wait until the technology is offered by a foreign company.  

Andrey Tkachenko, President of the General Satellite Corporation: "We are among the first few companies in the world to attract investments into 3D content creation and we were the first who launched satellite 3D broadcasting in Russia."  

The General Satellite Corporation recorded Giselle as it was performed at the Mariinsky Theatre in 3D format for the first time in history.