Scandal at the Opera
Ninety-five years since its establishment, celebrated this very month, the National Opera House in Bucharest is the stage of a huge scandal.
Corina Cristea, 28.04.2016, 14:25
Ninety-five years since its establishment, celebrated this very month, the National Opera House in Bucharest is the stage of a huge scandal and witnesses an unprecedented crisis, with three performances cancelled and the Culture Minister Vlad Alexandrescu stepping down as a consequence. The row broke out after conductor Tiberiu Soare was appointed interim director of the National Opera, to replace actor George Calin, who had been dismissed further to irregularities in the institution’s records found by the Court of Accounts. One day later, the coordinator of the ballet company, Johan Kobborg, announced his resignation, on grounds that his title as artistic director of the Opera’s ballet company had been erased from the institution’s website.
The decision was criticised by the dancers, but Tiberiu Soare argued that the institution’s organisation scheme did not include this position, which was therefore illegal. Kobborg’s demotion had international echoes in the dance community, where the Dane is a highly respected figure, and some of the Opera dancers announced they would no longer perform or even leave the institution. Meanwhile, Soare was appointed deputy director, and the interim director general post was taken over by another conductor, Vlad Conta.
In reply to the show of support for Kobborg, including from his partner, dancer Alina Cojocaru, named ballerina of the decade in Moscow in 2010, other employees staged a counter-demonstration, mentioning the substantial gaps between the salaries paid to Romanians and those paid to foreign employees. George Calin, brought back to office for three months in an attempt to settle the conflict, only managed to further deepen the tensions, and Culture Minister Vlad Alexandrescu was accused of giving in to pressure.
As the Minister explained on his Facebook page, “this solution was found during the talks with Johan Kobborg and Alina Cojocaru, aimed at keeping them at the Opera, and this nomination was a condition mentioned during that negotiation. But given the protests at the Opera and the opposition of the artists, it has become clear that George Calin cannot keep his position, which is why I have decided to revoke his appointment. I will nominate a new manager in the forthcoming days.” But on the same social network Minister Alexandrescu only announced his own resignation.
On Wednesday night, PM Dacian Ciolos told some 200 people who staged a street protest in support of Vlad Alexandrescu that he hoped his decision would convince all the artists at the Romanian Opera that the Culture Ministry would be the pole of stability they needed.
(Translated by Ana Maria Popescu)
