Breaking: Russian opera director faces six years jail
mainThe prosecution has demanded a six-year sentence in the long-running trial of the opera director Kirill Serebrennikov, who is accused of embezzling theatre funds.
He denies the charges, which many believe to have been trumped up after he voiced opposition to the Putin regime.
Serebrennikov has a busy international career, especially in German opera houses, and many friends in the music community. So far, only Teodor Currentzis (below) has spoken up for him.
Elsewhere in the city of Oryol, Danish citizen Dennis Christensen is going to be released after 1128 days in isolation behind bars.
For years I see posts supporting Serebrennikov, especially from people living in Russia. However I cannot find when did Currentzis stood up for his college and friend while having a lot of power in his hands.
https://www.facebook.com/currentzis/posts/1077509929049950
Every state should aim at creating such a system where people trust law enforcement agencies, trust court. But we are witnessing situation with an opposite effect. What do we see now? Well known men openly defraud huge sums of money and stay free. Moreover, they are still in the head of state theatres, and are quite privileged. At the same time, people who are doing real stuff, people who create something new in modern art, which is recognised all over the world, these people end up in prison.
There is more to it: intelligent man not struggling on arrest is taken down by masked people as if he is a criminal. Such a harsh and prejudicial treatment of an artist is impossible. It diminishes system of justice in our country itself. If it continues, directors will be afraid of doing their job which includes freedom of speech and search for a new language. And if government system is out of trust, what is there left?
We are at one with Кирилл Серебренников (Kirill Serebrennikov) and support him through this. It is not only that a famous Russian director is imprisoned, the whole Russian modern art is at stake.
Teodor Currentzis
Currentzis? Better to have no help at all than from that one!
Armenian soprano Ruzan Mantashyan has been posting in his defense quite often!