Johan Kobborg ensures the Bucharest Manon goes on

There was doubt whether performances of Macmillan’s Manon would go ahead in Bucharest after the peremptory dismissal of the company’s artistic director, Johan Kobborg.

But there have been developments.

Here’s a message from Johan:

I am so grateful to all of you who supported in past few days and to those who kept asking questions today, I thank you for your patience.

It has today been a priority from the moment I entered the theatre to make sure tonights performance would take place, for our audiences and for the artists, and tonight I think anyone watching the performance enjoyed it as much as I did.
Congrats Dancers/Musicians and Technical crews.
You showed me again the very reason, why I have chosen and always will continue to chose, to never allow myself to be intimidated or manipulated as an artist.

I do due to the massive amount of questions, send to me today, feel I need to clarify the situation as it stands at this very moment.

After the Minister of Culture made the proposal for me to return to the Bucharest National Opera House as the institution’s Artistic Director of the Ballet Company, I have this morning met with the interim General Manager, Mr. Vlad Conta, and discussed how we can further look into the possibilities related to this proposal.

Given my only focus is on maintaining activity standards, as I have believed in for the last couple of years, we will meet again next week to see if the exact specifications of such a collaboration can be found in this new set up, and my function within the institution can be continued as has previously been. And as such, I am open to the negotiations needed and to see if mutual ground can be found.
So to clarify, I have at this time not signed any contract, nor seen or accepted a proposal, but only theoretically approved the idea of becoming the Artistic Director of the Company.

The theater will perform its scheduled Manon performance tomorrow, even if unfortunate cast changes have occurred, due to the recent events causing stoppage of rehearsal time for the two lead dancers involved.

Best regards,
Johan Kobborg