Bolshoi chief sacked over infighting
Source: Agencies |
July 10, 2013, Wednesday
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THE chief of Moscow's Bolshoi Theater was fired yesterday after months of infighting following an acid attack on its artistic director that has stained the reputation of one of the legendary names in ballet.
The departure of Anatoly Iksanov, the theater's director general, comes weeks after the ousting of his rival, principal dancer Nikolai Tsiskaridze.
Russian Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky said only that the 61-year old Iksanov, who led the Bolshoi for nearly 13 years, was dismissed because of a "difficult situation at the theater."
He told a news conference that the head of Moscow's No. 2 ballet company, the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theater, would succeed Iksanov.
The Bolshoi has been shrouded in scandal for years but a fierce conflict erupted in January after an assailant threw acid into the face of Bolshoi artistic director Sergei Filin. He remains at a German clinic where doctors are trying to save his vision.
Iksanov accused Tsiskaridze of creating an atmosphere of discord that set the scene for the attack. The 39-year-old dancer rejected the claims and argued that the theater has plunged into crime and violence under Iksanov's watch.
In March, police arrested Bolshoi soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko on suspicion of involvement in the acid attack. Dmitrichenko admitted that he had agreed to an offer from an acquaintance to rough up Filin, but he insisted that the man had used acid on his own initiative.
Despite Dmitrichenko's confession, many in the ballet company have stood by him, saying they do not believe him capable of staging such a crime. About 300 dancers and staff, led by Tsiskaridze, signed an open letter claiming that Dmitrichenko had slandered himself under police pressure.
Dmitrichenko remains in custody pending trial.
The departure of Anatoly Iksanov, the theater's director general, comes weeks after the ousting of his rival, principal dancer Nikolai Tsiskaridze.
Russian Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky said only that the 61-year old Iksanov, who led the Bolshoi for nearly 13 years, was dismissed because of a "difficult situation at the theater."
He told a news conference that the head of Moscow's No. 2 ballet company, the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theater, would succeed Iksanov.
The Bolshoi has been shrouded in scandal for years but a fierce conflict erupted in January after an assailant threw acid into the face of Bolshoi artistic director Sergei Filin. He remains at a German clinic where doctors are trying to save his vision.
Iksanov accused Tsiskaridze of creating an atmosphere of discord that set the scene for the attack. The 39-year-old dancer rejected the claims and argued that the theater has plunged into crime and violence under Iksanov's watch.
In March, police arrested Bolshoi soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko on suspicion of involvement in the acid attack. Dmitrichenko admitted that he had agreed to an offer from an acquaintance to rough up Filin, but he insisted that the man had used acid on his own initiative.
Despite Dmitrichenko's confession, many in the ballet company have stood by him, saying they do not believe him capable of staging such a crime. About 300 dancers and staff, led by Tsiskaridze, signed an open letter claiming that Dmitrichenko had slandered himself under police pressure.
Dmitrichenko remains in custody pending trial.
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