PM personally receives staff of Yerevan Opera Theater to solve Orbelian issue

YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. Staff of the Alexander Spendiaryan Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, or the Yerevan Opera Theater, say they are happy over the meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan that took place today after the performers staged a demonstration outside the Government headquarters against the dismissal of Constantine Orbelian as General Director.

Orbelian, a three-time Grammy Award nominated conductor, was appointed artistic director of the Yerevan Opera Theater in 2016. Then, a year later, he also became general director of the theater.

Acting Minister of Culture Nazeni Gharibyan dismissed Orbelian as general director on March 29, claiming that by law he cannot occupy both positions simultaneously. This sparked discontent among performers of the Yerevan Opera Theater.

“We agreed for the general director’s duties to be assumed temporarily by the deputy director. It was guaranteed that no outsider will come and be director. We will receive the ministry’s justifications over the dismissal on our emails, and we will present our counter-arguments”, conductor Harutyun Arzumanyan said.

In case of the culture ministry’s dismissal order being unlawful, the prime minister vowed to fire those responsible.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan