Bolshoi Theater director resigns amid pressure to condemn war in Ukraine but refuses to condemn invasion amid growing anti-war protests in Russia
- Tugan Sokhiev feels pressured by calls to take a stand on Ukraine conflict
- He refused to condemn the war, but said he condemned conflict “of any kind”.
Music director and chief conductor of the Bolshoi Theater Tugan Sokhiev announced his resignation on Sunday, saying he felt pressured by calls to take a stand on the Ukraine conflict.
The Russian said in a statement that he “immediately resigns” from his post at the Moscow Theater, as well as from his equivalent position at FranceNational Orchestra of the Capitole of Toulouse.
Sokhiev was appointed Bolshoi in 2014. He was brought in as part of an effort to improve the theater’s image following scandals, including an acid attack on its then artistic director Sergei Filin in 2013.
He comes from the same North Ossetia as star conductor Valery Gergiev and is considered his protégé.
Kremlin supporter Gergiev was stripped of his position at the Munich Philharmonic for failing to condemn Russia’s actions.
Music director and chief conductor of the Bolshoi Theater Tugan Sokhiev said he feels pressured by calls to take a stand on the Ukraine conflict.
Sokhiev said in a lengthy statement that “many have been waiting for me to express myself and hear from me my position on what is happening at the moment,” referring to Russia’s military actions in Ukraine.
He said he decided to retire after “being forced to face an impossible choice between my favorite Russians and my favorite French musicians”.
He cited the Toulouse authorities’ resistance to his planned Franco-Russian music festival there, saying they “want me to express my opinion in the name of peace”.
Sokhiev became musical director of the Toulouse Orchestra in 2008 and continued to work with the orchestra after joining the Bolshoi Theatre.
Sokhiev did not explicitly say whether he supports or opposes Russia’s actions in Ukraine, but said that “I have never supported and will always be against any conflicts in any form and form.”
MOSCOW: A woman screams as two policemen detain her for participating in an anti-war protest in Moscow on Sunday afternoon.
He said that musicians were “victims of the so-called ‘cancellation culture'” and suggested that Russian music could be under threat.
“Soon I will be asked to choose between Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Shostakovich and Beethoven, Brahms, Debussy,” he warned.
The general director of the Bolshoi Theater, Vladimir Urin, told state news agency TASS that he was saddened by Sokhiev’s decision.
“I’m sorry. His departure is a serious problem for the Bolshoi Theatre. It is not clear how the situation will develop further.”