Gavriel Heine stated that “Russia is not the place where I would like my son to grow up.”
The American conductor of the Mariinsky Theater Gavriel Heine has submitted a letter of resignation from the post of conductor as a sign of disagreement with the Russian armed invasion of Ukraine, The New York Times reported.
According to the newspaper, 47-year-old Heine, who received higher musical education at the Moscow and St. Petersburg Conservatories, first performed on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater as a conductor in 2007 at the invitation of the artistic director of the theater Valery Gergiev.
However, in an interview with The New York Times, Heine said that “it is impossible to deny what is happening,” referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to Heine, “Russia is not the place where I would like my son to grow up; it is not the place where I would like to be.”
The management of the Mariinsky Theater refused to comment on the information about the departure of Gavriel Heine from the post of conductor of the theater.
The artistic director and director of the Mariinsky Theatre, Valery Gergiev, is known for his close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
