Members of the Kirov Opera and its Orchestra, normally in residence at the historic Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia, come to the Kennedy Center periodically to present touring productions of operas and other great pieces of music. Last night, we were in the Opera House to see the first performance of their staging of Giacomo Puccini’s last and perhaps greatest opera, Turandot. It was an excellent show, with well-performed music and a splashy, colorful staging that is extraordinarily effective. If you are not a die-hard opera fan but are interested in finding out what opera is all about, this would be a great introduction.

Tickets are fairly expensive, but we are always on the lookout for discounts for DCist readers. We have just learned — not in time for this week’s Classical Music Agenda but hopefully before they are all gone — that there are some $10 student tickets for at least two of this week’s Kirov Opera productions: Tuesday’s Parsifal (February 21, 6 p.m.) and Thursday’s Turandot (February 21, 7:30 p.m.). You need to go to the Kennedy Center box office with your valid student ID and ask for the “ATTEND DISCOUNT” (mention promotion code 12488). You can buy up to two tickets, but you will need your guest’s student ID to buy him or her a ticket. At that price, we order you to go and hear some opera. You will not be disappointed. If you are past your student days, we understand that the only regular tickets remaining are pretty expensive. If you really want to go, we advise you to try TICKETplace, in the Old Post Office Pavilion, where you can often buy tickets to Kennedy Center events for reduced prices. They have half-price tickets to tomorrow’s Parsifal and may have half-price tickets for Turandot. Check on the day of the performance.