Diamond + Schmitt's proposed design for the new Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia.Diamond + Schmitt's proposed design for the new Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. (Diamond + Schmitt)

Toronto architects Diamond + Schmitt have won the contract to design a $454-million opera and ballet house at the renowned Mariinsky Theatre complex in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The winning proposal, done in collaboration with St. Petersburg architects KB ViPS, was announced Tuesday by Mariinsky Theatre conductor Valerie Gergiev.

Gergiev said he was impressed with Diamond + Schmitt's design for the Four Seasons Performing Arts Centre in Toronto.

"When the late Richard Bradshaw [general director of the Canadian Opera Company] toured me through his new Four Seasons Centre in Toronto in 2007, I was struck by its beauty, its practicality and friendliness with neighbouring buildings, its superb acoustics and, of course, its budget," he said in a statement.

The 295-million-euro budget for the 2,000-seat hall is being funded by the Russian government, with Culture Minister Alexander Avdeyev confirming the Diamond + Schmitt-led project had won the design tender.

The Mariinsky Theatre, built in 1860, was the original home of Russia's Imperial Theatre and Imperial Ballet.

Near original building

Gergiev, who became artistic director in 1988, has been ambitious in expanding beyond the original Mariinsky. A second theatre concert hall with 1,200 seats opened in 2007.

The New Mariinsky opera house will be directly across the canal from the original building.

Russia annulled the initial 2003 contract for the project given to French architect Dominique Perrault because of mounting costs and the impracticality of the design.

A new design competition was launched earlier this year.

"The biggest advantage of the project over that of Dominique Perrault is that it is without doubt realizable," Gergiev said in an interview with Agence France-Presse.

The projected date of completion is 2011.

Diamond + Schmitt is also known for its work on the Banff Centre for the Arts and recently won the contract for Montreal's concert hall.