Putin proposed to Gergiev to unite the directorate of the Mariinsky and the Bolshoi Theater

RBC

2 min

March 25, 2022

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President Vladimir Putin, at a meeting with laureates of awards in the field of culture and art, invited the conductor, artistic director and general director of the Mariinsky Theater Valery Gergiev to think about creating a joint directorate of the Bolshoi Theater and the Mariinsky Theater.

The President called the Bolshoi Theater the main rival of the Mariinsky in Russia. “This is understandable, and it’s good that we have such an opportunity to compare our leading, best, world-class teams,” he said ( TASS quote ).

“Nevertheless, you probably know that at one time we had the Directorate of the Imperial Theaters, which made it possible to take care of the best teams in an appropriate way and develop, if not in the same way, then by supporting them in such a way that they complement each other in the best possible way. ", Putin said.

The President turned to Gergiev with the question “How do you feel about the idea of ​​recreating a common directorate?” Noting that they had discussed this issue with the artistic director of the Mariinsky Theater earlier. “I am not saying that this is some kind of decision, so that there is no unnecessary talk,” Putin added.

Gergiev, in response, recalled that the discussion of the merger of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky theaters was going on back in the mid-1990s. According to the artistic director, the creation of such a directorate "may have far-reaching and most valuable favorable opportunities." “First of all, I think about young artists, musicians, artists of orchestras and choirs, and, of course, soloists. They need support,” he said (quoted by RIA Novosti ).

The Directorate of the Imperial Theaters was established in 1766 by Empress Catherine II as a state institution that managed the imperial theaters. In March 1917, it was transformed into the management of state theaters.

Gergiev discussed the unification of the directorates of the Bolshoi and the Mariinsky, following the example of the imperial theaters, at the end of 1995 with Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin. Conversations on this topic resumed in 2010, Forbes wrote , citing a businessman close to the Bolshoi Board of Trustees and a source close to Gergiev. Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov then said that this issue was not being discussed.

On March 1, the Munich City Hall terminated the contract with Gergiev, who served as chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. The city authorities had previously demanded that the musician distance himself from the Russian military operation in Ukraine and reconsider his "positive assessment" of Putin's activities, but, according to Mayor Dieter Reiter, Gergiev did not respond to the request. Against this background, the Bavarian State Opera also ceased cooperation with the conductor.

Director General of the Bolshoi Theater Vladimir Urin was among the Russian cultural figures who signed an appeal in late February calling for an end to hostilities in Ukraine.

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