The essence of the scandal with the artists at the Bolshoi Theater is revealed

Why ballet soloists were suspended from performances

We haven’t heard anything bad about the Bolshoi Theater for a long time, and here we are again. According to excited telegram channels, the theater management has suspended its star artists from participating in performances. The reason for such a tough decision was the unauthorized departure of the dancers on tour to Tashkent. The MK observer became aware of the details of the internal conflict in BT and the nuances that could lead to undesirable consequences.

The press service of the Bolshoi answers harshly: “We do not comment on the internal issues of the theater.” It’s understandable – no one wants to wash dirty linen from the “hut”, especially theatrical one, where, as you know, even the backstage hear, and one carelessly thrown word instantly swells and can turn into God knows what – and you won’t find the ends, who is right, who is guilty. Let’s consider a situation that, to be honest, is not new for the theater in general and the Bolshoi in particular.

It’s no secret that in the old days and under the previous leadership, artists always went on hacks – why not go on your own day off, especially since there are not a lot of tours now. So, in the Bolshoi Theater, such a group of young and eminent artists has gathered. There are definitely several big names among them: Vladislav Lantratov, Ekaterina Krysanova and Ekaterina Shipulina are pervachs. The organization of the tour to Tashkent was organized by Shipulina through the Denis Matsuev Foundation, she is the wife of a famous pianist and head of the foundation. They say that the producer of Anna Netrebko, one of ours, but living in Monaco, is also involved in the tour.

And so, on their legal day off, the artists flew to Tashkent, where they danced a gala concert composed of numbers from famous ballets. It would seem, what kind of crime is here? Is there a day off? Yes, and in this case, the labor law is on their side. And why not earn extra money for artists on their day off, since there is such an opportunity. Their only fault is that they did not notify the artistic director of the ballet troupe Makhar Vaziev about the departure. However, here it should be clarified that Anastasia Stashkevich came to Vaziev to ask for leave, saying that she and Mikhail Lobukhin would not be there, they were leaving. But where and why – she didn’t specify, and no one attached any importance to this: it’s still a day off.

But we must understand that in the age of triumph and the reign of social networks, every step, and what is there a step – a sigh is known to the world. And then there’s the poster – the Bolshoi Theater in Tashkent and a couple of big names – someone released it. And someone took it down and posted it. And now the boss in Moscow is angrily banging on the table with his fist (you can add thunder and lightning to the eyes and voice – everything will be reliable) and quite legitimately asks: “Why are you performing under the Bolshoi Theater brand? Does the management know? Who gave permission to use the brand?

De jure, the authorities of the Bolshoi are right: if you don’t ask, you get it. But for a month the artists were suspended from work. And on their parties, as a punishment, they introduced a second composition, which, of course, is happy – there was a chance to get a role that did not shine. And the theater is already full of the most ridiculous and contradictory rumors: that they set up their own guys – they say, one artist, who was supposed to fly to Tashkent, jumped off at the last moment, and since she was a student of the artistic director’s wife, she reported on those who had left. That is, the intrigue has gone further, there is no doubt, it will only grow. Do you feel how the fact itself, a small incident in fact, is shrinking and blurring?

So, the ballet “crime” was committed, the demonstrative ballet punishment took place, the conclusions were drawn. But … the most disappointing information began to come from the box office – Krysanova’s fans, who were removed from three performances at once as a punishment, hand over tickets, almost crawled out of the performance. Maybe the conflicting parties should draw conclusions for the future and take into account modern realities? Artists – to understand that for the violations prescribed in their contracts, they will have to answer and not be offended by children. And the theater management should start increasing the legal literacy of the team so that it, the authorities, commensurates the degree of punishment with the financial losses from it. The moral factor and the satisfaction of ambitions do not count here.