Russian war of aggression
Gergiev takes over Bolshoi Theater
Valery Gergiev, who previously served as director of the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, has been appointed director of the Moscow Bolshoi Theater by the Russian government. photo
© Mikhail Metzel/Pool Sputnik Kremlin/AP/dpa
The conductor Gergiev, a friend of the president, takes over the Bolshoi. The previous general director had made himself unpopular with criticism.
The internationally known conductor and friend of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin Valeri Gergiev takes over the management of the world-famous Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced in Moscow on Friday that the 70-year-old had been appointed general director of Russia’s largest state theater for a period of five years. Gergiev also directs the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Putin’s hometown, which is also internationally known for its guest performances. He is also the founder of several festivals.
Last year, Gergiev had to resign as chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic because he had not distanced himself from Putin’s war against Ukraine. According to the government’s announcement, the previous general director of the Bolshoi Theater, Vladimir Urin, was relieved of his position at his own request. In contrast to Gergiev, he was considered an opponent of the war against Ukraine.
“I’m saying goodbye today because today is my last day working at the Bolshoi Theater,” said 76-year-old Urin at a premiere party in front of the company, according to a video circulating on the Internet. A spokeswoman for the theater confirmed the authenticity of the video to the German Press Agency on Friday.
Just two days after the start of the Russian attack on Ukraine, which Putin ordered on February 24, 2022, Urin and other cultural figures signed a call to end the war. Because of the war and the resulting Western sanctions, many Bolshoi artists ended their involvement with the theater of their own volition or by force.
Fear of political persecution
As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Bolshoi’s chief conductor, Tugan Sochiyev, left his post in March 2022. Sochiyev, who had been in office since 2014, emphasized that he had never supported armed conflicts and had always felt for the victims of all conflicts in the 20 years of his musical career.
The director Kirill Serebrennikov, whose award-winning ballet “Nureyev” was removed from the Bolshoi’s schedule, also fled Russia. The ballet about the gay Russian dancer Rudolf Nureyev, who died of AIDS, was removed from the repertoire because of the ban on “propaganda of non-traditional values.” Serebrennikov had sharply criticized Russia’s war. Like many artists, he left his homeland for fear of political persecution in order to be able to work freely abroad without the censorship that was widespread in the cultural sector.
At a performance by Gergiev at the Bolshoi Theater on Friday, the government dismissed fears that the Moscow and St. Petersburg theaters could be merged. “That won’t happen. The Bolshoi and the Mariinsky will continue to exist as they have existed before,” said Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova. Gergiev himself said that the cooperation between the two theaters should be expanded through mutual guest performances.
Unprecedented accumulation of offices
The prominent Putin friend recently said in response to speculation surrounding his appointment that he had enough to do and was not looking for more work. Now he is supposed to run the Bolshoi in parallel to the Mariinsky, where he has been general director since 1988 and also artistic director since 1996.
The Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg announced that Gergiev would also continue his work as a conductor in response to the accumulation of positions, which was unprecedented even by Russian standards. In the current schedule, he is at the desk three to five times a week. “There is no doubt that the maestro will distribute his attention between the two cities quickly and very competently,” the theater said. Among other things, Putin awarded his friend Gergiev the title of “Hero of Labor.”
The previous general director, Urin, had led the theater with the largest ballet company in the world and the internationally renowned opera and concert divisions since 2013. His contract would have been valid until 2027. The media recently reported that Putin himself had insisted on Urin’s dismissal. Urin said Friday that the past 10-plus years have been very fortunate for him. However, he did not comment on the reasons for his departure.