Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater held a performance Saturday to support the families of Russian soldiers who died during Russia’s “military operation” in Ukraine.
The performance was Aram Khachaturian’s ballet Spartacus, the story of a gladiator who led a rebellion of slaves against the Roman Empire.
The Bolshoi site noted that this was the first performance of a project called “Open Curtains” organized by the Russian Culture Ministry.
As part of the project Russian theaters will “put on performances for all kinds of audiences included members of youth, volunteer and veterans’ organizations, families with many children, as well as residents of the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics.”
The Bolshoi site is also filled with announcements of cancellations and changed schedules. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine of Feb. 24, several important figures at the Bolshoi resigned: principal conductor Tugan Sokhiev, guest conductor Pier Giorgio Morandi, and the Italian principal dancer Jacopo Tissi.
Russian ballerina Prima ballerina Olga Smirnova also quit the Bolshoi last month and joined the Dutch National Ballet.
