The cast of Maly Drama Theatre of St. Petersburg’s staging of “Three Sisters.” Photo: Viktor Vassiliev.

By Helen Epstein

There will be a longer review to come, but the run of the Maly Drama Theatre of St. Petersburg’s production of Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters is so short — through March 6 — and the production is so exquisite that it rates a Fuse News flash. Presented by Arts Emerson at the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theater, this is a beautifully directed staging (by Lev Dodin) that boasts all the impressive strengths that an 80 year-old state supported theater can provide — stellar ensemble acting, a striking set, and finely tuned light and sound design. The text is performed in Russian, but that is not a hindrance — the excellent English supertitles allow you to float on the music of Chekhov’s lines.