Bolshoi Theatre Falling Apart - Ex-Chief

[mastodon]

Russia's world-renowned Bolshoi Theatre is falling apart due to a lack of funding, blatant mismanagement, and officials' obsession with entertainment at the cost of serious music, according to its former artistic director.

In a letter published on Tuesday, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, one of Russia's leading orchestra conductors who quit as the Bolshoi's artistic director last week, said he could not run the theatre when performers skipped rehearsals and ignored orders.

In the open letter to Culture Minister Mikhail Shvydkoi, published by Izvestia newspaper, he cited an epidemic of technical problems bordering on sabotage and press attacks against him that appeared to be part of an organised campaign.

Rehearsals for the world premiere of Rozhdestvensky's new production, Sergei Prokofiev's opera "The Gambler", revealed a catastrophic inability of the Bolshoi Theatre to meet such challenges," he wrote.

"The rehearsal plan...was ruined in all of its components. Sometimes it produced the impression of open sabotage," he added.

He told the paper that Culture Ministry officials were also trying to dump serious music for lighter entertainment programmes.

"It is alarming, that drive to entertain at any cost, to stupefy, to conceal the real music," he commented.

Asked whether Russia was alone in the world in lowering its standards, he replied: "I see it everywhere, but Russia, alas, is the leader."

Rozhdestvensky was appointed last year in a dramatic shake-up at the legendary ballet and opera theatre when the government took control, promising to restore the 225-year-old theatre to its past glory.

He said his first aim was to revamp the repertoire, stripping it of "junk" and bringing in the best of world opera.

But his resignation after just one season came as a shock and dashed hopes that the Bolshoi would soon regain the international standing it enjoyed during Soviet days when the state spent lavishly on the theatre and kept tabs on its artists.

The Bolshoi has lost many of its top talent to the West, its productions have received poor reviews, and its building is crumbling. Russia's other top theatre, the Mariinsky or Kirov in St Petersburg, has managed to keep standards higher.

Shvydkoi last week described Rozhdestvensky's departure as a "regretful but not tragic occurrence" and said poor reviews for "The Gambler" seemed to be the main reason the conductor quit.

Rozhdestvensky said his problems in turning the repertory around stemmed from the theatre's off-hand management and lack state funding to pay artists.

He said performers' fees were so small that they were rejecting engagements and skipping rehearsals – a behaviour tolerated by management to keep stars from moving to the West.

Rozhdestvensky said those who did turn up for work could hardly rehearse, thwarted by mishaps large and small, ranging from sets that did not move properly to gaffes in scoresheets.
//Reuters