<translated automatically, will be edited>
On the opening day of the tour of the Bolshoi Theater on the famous Milan stage of La Scala, the Russian media reported that the chief conductor of the Bolshoi Theater Alexander Vedernikov, due to disagreements with the theater management, would leave his post as soon as the curtain closed on the last performance of Eugene Onegin.
Maestro Vedernikov intends to make an official statement about his termination of the contract with the Bolshoi Theatre, which expires in June 2010, on July 17, upon his return from Milan to Moscow.
Meanwhile, the question of termination of the contract between the Bolshoi Theater and Alexander Vedernikov, who has held the post of chief conductor since 2001, is not a surprise. During the last few seasons, the theme of the Bolshoi Opera crisis has been vigorously discussed in musical circles.
Vedernikov came to the theater with ideas for reforming the creative process on Russia's oldest musical stage. One of his tasks was to shift the work of the troupe to the western model, when the performing staff is recruited for a new production through casting. However, in the Russian theatre, the basic value of which has always been a permanent troupe, transformations in this direction could not be carried out instantly.
Russia is perhaps the only country in the music world where the question is still relevant: where do you work? Today Vedernikov turns his claims to the management of the theater, referring to its bureaucracy and archaic organization of the business...
Of course, if we recall Vedernikov’s arrival in the theater, then his attempts to modernize, at least at the repertoire level, were really obvious: updating, sometimes even scandalous, posters - “Children of Rosenthal” directed by Nyakroshus, modern “Eugene Onegin” by Chernyakov, Russian premiere “ The Rake's Adventures” by Stravinsky, research work on the restoration of the full version of the score of “Ruslan and Lyudmila” by Glinka, the appearance of the Prokofiev cycle – “Fiery Angel”, “War and Peace”, “Love for Three Oranges”, “Cinderella”…
In terms of the composition of soloists, the Bolshoi Theater has long been “behind the rest of the planet”. There are no Lenskys of our own, no Herman, no such mezzos who, like Obraztsovaya or Arkhipova, would draw a full house in the hall. There were no major conductors at the podium of the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra in the last eight years either - an agreement with Yuri Temirkanov to take the place of the chief guest conductor of the Bolshoi Theater did not materialize. Only did Mikhail Pletnev make his debut in the Bolshoi's The Queen of Spades as a theater conductor.
Theater director Anatoly Iksanov always adheres to an extremely neutral position and did not voice any disagreements with Vedernikov. Of course, one person is not able to solve such a number of issues that arise in the course of artistic and organizational work in the theater (the only exception in the world is Gergiev at the Mariinsky Theater).
Therefore, the structure planned for the next five to seven years, which should be launched at the Bolshoi Theater in the coming season - in a "test" mode, involves managerial management. It is known that the theater does not yet plan to introduce the figure of the chief conductor. Instead of Vedernikov, a panel of five world-famous musicians will appear here: Vladimir Yurovsky, Alexander Lazarev, Kirill Petrenko, Teodor Currentzis and Vasily Sinaisky.
Alexander VEDERNIKOV, chief conductor of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia:
“My decision is not impromptu, the time has come for it. Why I said this on the eve of the La Scala tour: in terms of creative performance, this tour, which is a huge success, can be seen as the result of my work in the theater.
The fact is that over time it became more and more difficult for me to fulfill my tasks in the theater and withstand the pressure from the bureaucracy, which is constantly increasing. All decisions here are made by people who have nothing to do with music, and I cannot be personally responsible for the results of these decisions. The sphere of creative planning is completely within the competence of the directorate, and only here they decide which performances will be in the repertoire and which will not.
Of course, I am sorry to make such a decision, especially since the creative forces of the theater are today at such a level that they can handle any work. But what is happening here is indicative of any situation related to the idea of reforms. When a new leadership comes, it looks for support in like-minded people, it is ready to take risks and experiment. But then the hardware logic begins to act, and the main thing is that everything rolls as usual.
As for the creative teams - the choir and the orchestra, I have developed warm relations with them. I hope they keep. Recently, with regard to the Bolshoi Theater, everyone is worried about only one thing - reconstruction. And here a lot of creative problems have accumulated, and with my gesture I wanted to draw attention to them.
It seems to me that the theater has chosen a dead end path. The creation of a conductor's college is a hopeless idea that arose from the fact that the bureaucrats have nothing else to create."
Anatoly IKSANOV, General Director of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia:
“The only mistake of Alexander Vedernikov was that he announced his decision before such a responsible tour of the theater in Italy. But our team is so professional that it is difficult to confuse it. We discussed this situation with Vedernikov last year, and I asked him to stay. Today, many of his judgments seem simply amazing to me.
We did not have any conflict with him: it just turned out that we have a different vision of the prospects for the development of the theater. I am a supporter of the repertory theater, a supporter of the development of the troupe. This is an important idea for me, and in the fall we are launching the Bolshoi Theater Youth Program as I think about what artists we will be bringing to the restored historical stage of the Bolshoi Theater in 2011.
Also, I always believed that leading conductors should perform with the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra, and not randomly invited people. And the collegium is my idea: we invite big names known in the West to the theater. It is important for us that they work on the Russian musical field. Vedernikov is a relatively young man, and he is sincerely convinced that everything should work out at once. That doesn't happen.
I constantly raise the topic of the imperfection of our laws in the field of culture. But we must follow them! The Bolshoi Theater is not an island in the air. Today I am sure of the main thing that we will open in November 2011! We have just received confirmation from La Scala that their choir and orchestra will come to us for the opening. And the new youth program will help us to be a full-fledged troupe working on two stages."
Source.
On the opening day of the tour of the Bolshoi Theater on the famous Milan stage of La Scala, the Russian media reported that the chief conductor of the Bolshoi Theater Alexander Vedernikov, due to disagreements with the theater management, would leave his post as soon as the curtain closed on the last performance of Eugene Onegin.
Maestro Vedernikov intends to make an official statement about his termination of the contract with the Bolshoi Theatre, which expires in June 2010, on July 17, upon his return from Milan to Moscow.
Meanwhile, the question of termination of the contract between the Bolshoi Theater and Alexander Vedernikov, who has held the post of chief conductor since 2001, is not a surprise. During the last few seasons, the theme of the Bolshoi Opera crisis has been vigorously discussed in musical circles.
Vedernikov came to the theater with ideas for reforming the creative process on Russia's oldest musical stage. One of his tasks was to shift the work of the troupe to the western model, when the performing staff is recruited for a new production through casting. However, in the Russian theatre, the basic value of which has always been a permanent troupe, transformations in this direction could not be carried out instantly.
Russia is perhaps the only country in the music world where the question is still relevant: where do you work? Today Vedernikov turns his claims to the management of the theater, referring to its bureaucracy and archaic organization of the business...
Of course, if we recall Vedernikov’s arrival in the theater, then his attempts to modernize, at least at the repertoire level, were really obvious: updating, sometimes even scandalous, posters - “Children of Rosenthal” directed by Nyakroshus, modern “Eugene Onegin” by Chernyakov, Russian premiere “ The Rake's Adventures” by Stravinsky, research work on the restoration of the full version of the score of “Ruslan and Lyudmila” by Glinka, the appearance of the Prokofiev cycle – “Fiery Angel”, “War and Peace”, “Love for Three Oranges”, “Cinderella”…
In terms of the composition of soloists, the Bolshoi Theater has long been “behind the rest of the planet”. There are no Lenskys of our own, no Herman, no such mezzos who, like Obraztsovaya or Arkhipova, would draw a full house in the hall. There were no major conductors at the podium of the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra in the last eight years either - an agreement with Yuri Temirkanov to take the place of the chief guest conductor of the Bolshoi Theater did not materialize. Only did Mikhail Pletnev make his debut in the Bolshoi's The Queen of Spades as a theater conductor.
Theater director Anatoly Iksanov always adheres to an extremely neutral position and did not voice any disagreements with Vedernikov. Of course, one person is not able to solve such a number of issues that arise in the course of artistic and organizational work in the theater (the only exception in the world is Gergiev at the Mariinsky Theater).
Therefore, the structure planned for the next five to seven years, which should be launched at the Bolshoi Theater in the coming season - in a "test" mode, involves managerial management. It is known that the theater does not yet plan to introduce the figure of the chief conductor. Instead of Vedernikov, a panel of five world-famous musicians will appear here: Vladimir Yurovsky, Alexander Lazarev, Kirill Petrenko, Teodor Currentzis and Vasily Sinaisky.
Alexander VEDERNIKOV, chief conductor of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia:
“My decision is not impromptu, the time has come for it. Why I said this on the eve of the La Scala tour: in terms of creative performance, this tour, which is a huge success, can be seen as the result of my work in the theater.
The fact is that over time it became more and more difficult for me to fulfill my tasks in the theater and withstand the pressure from the bureaucracy, which is constantly increasing. All decisions here are made by people who have nothing to do with music, and I cannot be personally responsible for the results of these decisions. The sphere of creative planning is completely within the competence of the directorate, and only here they decide which performances will be in the repertoire and which will not.
Of course, I am sorry to make such a decision, especially since the creative forces of the theater are today at such a level that they can handle any work. But what is happening here is indicative of any situation related to the idea of reforms. When a new leadership comes, it looks for support in like-minded people, it is ready to take risks and experiment. But then the hardware logic begins to act, and the main thing is that everything rolls as usual.
As for the creative teams - the choir and the orchestra, I have developed warm relations with them. I hope they keep. Recently, with regard to the Bolshoi Theater, everyone is worried about only one thing - reconstruction. And here a lot of creative problems have accumulated, and with my gesture I wanted to draw attention to them.
It seems to me that the theater has chosen a dead end path. The creation of a conductor's college is a hopeless idea that arose from the fact that the bureaucrats have nothing else to create."
Anatoly IKSANOV, General Director of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia:
“The only mistake of Alexander Vedernikov was that he announced his decision before such a responsible tour of the theater in Italy. But our team is so professional that it is difficult to confuse it. We discussed this situation with Vedernikov last year, and I asked him to stay. Today, many of his judgments seem simply amazing to me.
We did not have any conflict with him: it just turned out that we have a different vision of the prospects for the development of the theater. I am a supporter of the repertory theater, a supporter of the development of the troupe. This is an important idea for me, and in the fall we are launching the Bolshoi Theater Youth Program as I think about what artists we will be bringing to the restored historical stage of the Bolshoi Theater in 2011.
Also, I always believed that leading conductors should perform with the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra, and not randomly invited people. And the collegium is my idea: we invite big names known in the West to the theater. It is important for us that they work on the Russian musical field. Vedernikov is a relatively young man, and he is sincerely convinced that everything should work out at once. That doesn't happen.
I constantly raise the topic of the imperfection of our laws in the field of culture. But we must follow them! The Bolshoi Theater is not an island in the air. Today I am sure of the main thing that we will open in November 2011! We have just received confirmation from La Scala that their choir and orchestra will come to us for the opening. And the new youth program will help us to be a full-fledged troupe working on two stages."
Source.
Alexander Vedernikov: “It seems to me that the theater has chosen a dead-end path”
Irina MURAVYOVA,
"RG", ClassicalMusicNews.ru 16 июля 2009 г.
"RG", ClassicalMusicNews.ru 16 июля 2009 г.
