Valery Gergiev becomes head of both Bolshoi and Mariinsky theatres

Russia’s two ‘rival’ theatres – The Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg and The Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow – will both be headed by Vladimir Putin‘s favourite conductor, Valery Gergiev.

Izvestiya reported that Gergiev will become the intendant of the Bolshoi Theatre and will remain in the same position at the Mariinsky Theatre, which he has been running since 1988.

The Bolshoi’s current director, Vladimir Urin, is said to have chosen voluntarily to leave after ten years in the post.

Apparently, Putin suggested the idea of one manager for both theatres during a meeting with Gergiev in March 2022. Before the Russian Revolution in 1917 the two theatres were run in this way.

After Gergiev refused to condemn the invasion of Ukraine last year, he was forced out of Milan’s La Scala where he was working at the time, and saw all his other European and American contacts cancelled.

Gergiev said that directing both theatres would mean that it would be easier to “co-ordinate efforts”, while Putin said that in this way the two theatres would “complement each other in the best way possible”.

Gramilano Editor

Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Italian ballerina Carla Fracci.

Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.

He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.