The official position of Lviv National Opera on the participation of the ballet soloist of the theater Evgeny Svetlitsa in the tour with the production of “Swan Lake” by P. Tchaikovsky in the United States as a participant of the RBTheatre (Russianballettheatre) company

The open sources has revealed that the soloist of the ballet company of Lviv National Opera, People’s Artist of Ukraine Evgeny Svetlitsa participates in the tour with the production of “Swan Lake” by P. Tchaikovsky (part of Siegfried) from February 7 to April 9, 2022 in the cities of the United States, organized by RBTheatre (Russianballettheatre).
According to the company’s website (https://www.russianballettheatre.com), ballet dancers from Russia have also been invited participate in the performance newd by Mariinsky Theater (Russia Federation) and choreographed by Nadezhda Kalinina.
It should be noted that Evgeny Svetlitsa is on unpaid vacation leave and has not informed the administration of Lviv National Opera about his participation in the above-mentioned tour. By such actions he has violated the requirements of the contract with the theater.
We are deeply concerned with the behaviour of the artist and condemn his position of cultural collaborationism, especially in this difficult time for Ukraine, when the Russian aggressor’s troops are brutally destroying the peaceful Ukrainian people, the cultural heritage and infrastructure.
At the same time, the leading soloists of Lviv National Opera Liudmyla Korsun and Taras Berezhanskyi on their own initiative abandoned projects involving Russian artists in Bologna (Italy) and Baden-Baden (Germany), adhering to the state and civil position.
Lviv National Opera launches official investigation into Evgeny Svetlitsa’s actions and disciplinary liability will be held.

Let’s keep the cultural front together!
Theater Administration