In July 2013, a senior violinist died after falling into the orchestra pit. Sadly, this is not the first time a death has happened at the Bolshoi. The theater added that it was assisting investigators as they investigated all of the circumstances around Kulesh’s death. MOSCOW, Oct 9 (Reuters) - A performer at Moscow's renowned Bolshoi Theatre was killed on Saturday in an accident on stage during an opera, the theatre said. The rest of the performance was canceled and the audience was refunded. In a statement to Russian press, the Bolshoi Theater noted that the show was immediately stopped, the audience was asked to leave the hall. Within seconds, the cast exited the stage and the curtains were closed.Įmergency services attempted to resuscitate Kulesh, but he died on the scene. The 37-year-old man was killed during a performance of Sadko, a 19th-century opera from Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The audience appeared to think the commotion was part of the show itself, until those on stage flagged the orchestra to stop playing. Interior of Moscow’s Bolshoi theatre, photographed in May 2020 (AFP via Getty Images) A performer was killed on-stage during a performance at Moscow ’s famed Bolshoi Theatre, the venue announced Saturday (9 October).

Once it came to rest on stage, the rest of the performers continued singing for just a few moments, before some realized what had happened. In videos that circulated of the moment, it appears that the scenery was in fact a backdrop that came down from above.

Kulesh was an extra, one of 50 employees who appear on stage to help round out the singers and dancers. Russian reports indicate that Kulesh “went in the wrong direction” as the scenery was descending, and ended up getting crushed beneath it. Kulesh was 38 years old.Īccording to the theater, the accident happened during a set change in “Sadko,” an opera by Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Also that year, a veteran violinist died after falling into the Bolshoi's orchestra pit.Yevgeny Kulesh, an opera performer at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre was killed on Saturday after an accident occurred on stage. A former dancer was sentenced to six years in a penal colony for orchestrating an acid attack on the theater's artistic director in 2013. Theater officials closed the curtains in the moments following the accident and called off the show shortly after, Russia's state-backed news network RT reported.įorensics experts were dispatched to the theater and the Russian Investigative Committee said it was looking into the accident, the network said. The Bolshoi cancelled a performance of Sadko on Sunday. The accident occurred during a performance of Sadko, an opera by the Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, multiple outlets reported. 'The time and place of parting will be announced later.'Īccording to the BBC, video shows Kulesh being crushed by a piece of the set during a scene change, as his fellow performers frantically waved their arms to get the crew to lift the structure off the actor. 'We express our deep condolences to family and friends,' the theater said in a statement translated from Russian. The man was identified as 38-year-old Evgenia Sergeevich Kulesh. An actor performing at Moscow's famous Bolshoi Theatre was killed in an accident on Saturday, the venue announced on social media.

Performer killed onstage accident