Other results of the 175th anniversary

An open letter from the artists of the Mikhailovsky Theater was recently sent to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. It also went to many other addresses in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The editors of Novaya Gazeta sent official requests to the Chairman of the Smolny Culture Committee Anton Gubankov and the General Director of the Mikhailovsky Theater Vladimir Kekhman with a request to comment on the issues raised in the letter. The uncelebratory, unpretentious, disappointing results of the theater’s activities as presented by the artists are strikingly different from the anniversary bravado of the leadership of this cultural institution

Letter from the artists of the Mikhailovsky Theater
In 2007, Vladimir Kekhman, owner of the JFC company, which imports fruit, was appointed general director of our theater. He introduced himself as a leader who would “optimize” the theater’s work in such a way that the theater would “become self-sustaining” and the artists would “finally receive a decent salary.” Unfortunately, the fruits of the new leader's activities were not as expected.
1. The theater does not have an ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, a chief conductor, a chief director, or a head of the opera troupe - all of them were either suspended from work or were forced to leave on their own. There are endless conflicts with directors A. N. Sokurov, M. G. Dotlibov, with choreographer G.?A. Kovtun (“Spartacus” is the theater’s only OWN production for the year), with conductors A.V. Titov, V.A. Rylov, with the heirs of S.S. Prokofiev; E.V. Obraztsova resigned. As a result of the lack of PROFESSIONAL MANAGEMENT, the theater's production plans are constantly changing and the opening of the 175th anniversary season has been disrupted. The last two opera premieres are purchased performances 10-20 years ago, transferred to our stage by an Italian production group, in which guest soloists are employed.
2. The overwhelming majority of the opera troupe was left without work, guaranteed by an employment contract (the REPERTOIRE theater, which previously gave 280 performances a year, actually ceased to exist). A highly professional acting ensemble of soloists, most of whom are at the peak of their creative potential, as well as young people who have the opportunity to improve only in the REPERTOIRE theater, have not been in demand for a year and a half.
3. Almost all operas disappeared from the theater’s repertoire (there were more than 20 of them, four remain).
4. All the rehearsal spaces that belonged to the opera have been converted into offices and offices, which are occupied by the exorbitantly expanded administration, and the orchestra, chorus and soloists are forced to rehearse in random rooms outside the theater (for example, in the school gym!).
5. The stage is constantly rented out, including for corporate events, when the ground floor turns into a restaurant.
6. Last year, for the first time in many years, artists' salaries were delayed until January 15. As a result, all the artists were left without money for the New Year holidays.
7. At the last meeting in October 2008, it was announced that the theater had a 20 million DEBT (?!).
8. Attempts are constantly being made to DISMISS the artists on the theater staff. In this case, methods of psychological pressure and deception are used.
9. In 2007-2008, renovations to the theater were carried out without approval from KGIOP and Rosokhrankultura.
10. An attempt was made to rent the theater. It failed. Now general director Vladimir Kekhman is trying to separate one of the buildings from the theater, located at the address: emb. Kanal Griboyedov, 4, which for decades was used for residence of artists with families who had PERMANENT REGISTRATION there. Attempts are being made to deprive them of their rights to the occupied living space by changing the address of the building, threatening to fire residents, and even using forceful methods (such as breaking into rooms and taking things away).
11. Work related to the redevelopment of premises, with the transfer of RESIDENTIAL premises to NON-RESIDENTIAL premises, is carried out without approval from KGIOP. All actions of the theater administration are carried out with numerous violations of the Legislation of the Russian Federation, despite the fact that the theater building, built in 1833 according to the design of the architect A.P. Bryullov, is an architectural monument of federal significance.
12. Theater workers are not allowed to speak out in the central media, in particular, a story ready and planned for broadcast on the ORT channel in the program “Man and the Law” about the state of affairs in our theater on November 20 was unexpectedly withdrawn for an unknown reason.

Mr. V. A. Kekhman - 2nd year STUDENT of the paid department of the Faculty of Theater Studies of the St. Petersburg State Academy of Theater Arts - was appointed ADVISOR TO THE GOVERNOR OF ST. PETERSBURG ON CULTURAL ISSUES (?!). Currently, he exercises SOLE management of the theater, combining the functions of general director and artistic director, which is a direct VIOLATION of the theater's Charter. There is an attempt to destroy the repertory theater as such and use the theater building as a rental platform, as well as for the implementation of their own business projects.
We hope for your help in this situation, because the staff of the STATE ACADEMIC OPERA AND BALLET THEATER, which is an integral part of the cultural life of St. Petersburg and Russia and has well-deserved recognition abroad, is on the verge of destruction.
We ask you to assist in the revision of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 05/06/2008 No. 651-“On the transfer of the theater building to the ownership of the city” and return the theater to federal subordination, as well as conduct an inspection in order to identify violations of the legislation of the Russian Federation and the Charter of the St. Petersburg State cultural institution “St. Petersburg State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater named after. M.?P. Mussorgsky - Mikhailovsky Theater.

Photo by Mikhail MASLENNIKOV

Opinion
Sergey Shub, director of the Baltic House theater, Honored Worker of Culture of Russia:
— Of course, there are a lot of scandals around the theater. But, if a person decides to start something, to rebuild the business anew, then, probably, he cannot do without blood and some offended people.

Marina Dmitrevskaya, editor-in-chief of the St. Petersburg Theater Magazine:
“Everything that happens at the Mikhailovsky Theater and expressed in the artists’ letters is an ugly grimace of the cultural policy of our city. Letters from dissatisfied artists are not uncommon; they arise when either a reformer comes to the theater, or, indeed, “the weight has reached the floor” due to arbitrariness, rudeness and unprofessionalism. People in the city tell “dark” jokes about Kekhman’s self-confidence, ready to replace conductors, choreographers, and artists. Where has it been seen that the actors of a troupe go to dress rehearsals of their own theater with paid tickets, and a fruit seller, who does not have a basic theater education, publicly announced that he is not embarrassed by dismissals, because he “has a mustache himself” and will not be able to conduct today or tomorrow and dance?. Like, we teach. I can’t say how much we train. By coincidence, student Vladimir Kekhman is on the list of that group of “second paid higher education”, which I have been teaching theater criticism for a year now, and where vice-rectors of universities, directors of large theaters in Russia, etc. study. I have never seen Kekhman in a year , but I heard that he was being taught criticism on a purely individual basis by someone else. I don’t know who. Don’t think that I pretend to teach Kekhman, God forbid, but, faced with this fact, I willingly believe the artists of the Mikhailovsky Theater. And I want our St. Petersburg Theater Journal to stop receiving ironically indignant and questioning letters from Russia and abroad: “Why don’t you ring all the bells? Why don’t you tell us who in St. Petersburg benefits from keeping Kekhman in Mikhailovsky?” Apparently, the weight reached the floor.