The staff at Armenian Opera and Ballet National Academic Theater are outraged by the decision of the country’s acting Culture Minister Nazeni Gharibyan to dismiss Constantine Orbelian from the post of the Opera theatre director. The Opera artists and the staff members plan to gather at 16:00  on Saturday to raise their voice against what they describe as arbitrary decision of the acting culture minister and  to express solidarity with maestro Orbelian.

“There will be continuous protest actions to make the culture ministry consider the concerns of the proud citizens of Armenia and in this case, the fair cause of the artists representing the high art,” reads the message posted on Opera theatre Facebook page.

To remind, Orbelian was dismissed from the post on March 28 pursuant to decision by acting Minister Gharibyan. Gharibyan justified her decision with the fact that the Opera theatre director cannot be engaged in other paid activities except scientific, pedagogical, and creative work, while Orbelian served as the Opera director combining the post with the position of the artistic director. Gharibyan clarified that maintaining the two posts simultaneously was unlawful since position of the artistic director was not a creative but a managerial  post.

To note, Grammy-nominated conductor Constantine Orbelian  became the Director and Artistic Director of the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater in 2017. He is also the chief conductor of the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra in Lithuania since 2013.

Orbelian leads concerts and recordings with some of the world’s greatest singers, in projects such as recordings of “Simon Boccanegra” and “Rigoletto,” with Dmitri Hvorostovsky in the title roles, and Virtuoso Rossini Arias, with American tenor Lawrence Brownlee.