Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Moscow8217;s Bolshoi Theatre, an icon of Russia8217;s arts, has again hit the headlines of Russian newspapers. The theatre8217;s artistic director, Vladimir Vasiliyev has fired troupe head Vyacheslav Gordeyev, putting an abrupt end to a drawn-out power struggle between the two world-renowned dancers.
On Wednesday, Vasiliyev told journalists, he would not renew the contract of Gordeyev, as they had not been able to resolve their differences over Bolshoi8217;s artistic direction.
8220;It8217;s just impossible for me to work with him,8221; Vasiliyev said. 8220;He did not work with a team-spirit, in which all conflicts find a consensus solution, and so far that8217;s not happened,8221; Vasiliyev said, accusing Gordeyev of irreconcilability.
Vasiliyev and Gordeyev, both hail from a well-known generation of Bolshoi dancers of the 1970s and 1980s. Gordeyev8217;s dismissal is the latest in a series of internal power struggles that has dogged the ballet company ever since the two of the greatest figures in Russian dance came to Bolshoi more than two years ago, dividing the artistes into camps.
When Vasiliyev succeeded controversial artistic director Yuri Grigorovich in 1995, he promised a 8220;new era8221; at the Bolshoi. He had also vowed to revive the theatre8217;s 8220;past glory8221; by persuading the Russian artists who had left Bolshoi and gone to Western countries in search of a better career, to return to the ballet.
Vasiliyev8217;s promise, however, still remains a distant dream. Not a single leading soloist, director or conductor has returned to the crises-ridden Bolshoi. 8220;They couldn8217;t think up anything new,8221; said world-famous ballerina Maya Plisetskaya, commenting on Gordeyev8217;s dismissal.
8220;They are just creative impotents.8221; Plisetskaya left Bolshoi several years ago and now lives in Munich. According to experts, the Bolshoi8217;s repertoire is still plagued by a sterility of ideas.
In the past two years, Vasiliyev himself produced new versions of Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet with mixed reactions from audiences, while Gordeyev8217;s Last Tango, which was recently premiered at the Bolshoi, utterly failed, said ballet critics.
The Bolshoi is currently passing through a financial crisis. Recently, Vasiliyev said at a press conference, the theatre will not be able to add new productions to its repertoire because money is not coming from the Government. 8220;We just don8217;t have the money for new productions,8221; he said. 8220;If the money doesn8217;t come, we just would not be able to open the new season.8221;
The cash-strapped Russian Government has allotted about 12 million to the theatre for 1997, which according to Vasiliyev, was hardly enough to meet the Bolshoi8217;s wage bill. Bolshoi is expected to stage its first premiere of the new season with Prokofiyev8217;s Love for Three Oranges by Peter Ustinov. As for its own new productions, it all depends on the availability of funds, says Vasiliyev.
