Bolshoi Theatre Music Director Alexander Vedernikov has unexpectedly announced his resignation, on the opening day of a Bolshoi tour to La Scala
http://www.reuters.com/article/artsNews/idUSTRE56C4UB20090713?sp=trueI can't be anywhere near as positive as George Loomis in the piece above. Vedernikov was a political appointment, foisted on the Bolshoi by Putin - with almost no pedigree as a conductor, his appointment mostly seemed to hinge on his father's reputation as a bass-baritone at the theatre several decades ago.
Vedernikov's conducting has rarely attracted praise, and his policy of appointing non-entities to the Bolshoi staff so that no greater talents might eclipse him has backfired artistically. The Bolshoi have been compelled to bring veteran maestro Alexander Titov out of retirement to conduct mainstream repertory.
This surprise "resignation" may well be prompted by many rumours that the Bolshoi management were planning to appoint a more respected conductor to the House who was capable of performing their bread-n-butter repertoire of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky and Verdi in which Vedernikov has been a disaster. Several names have been mentioned, including Vladimir Jurowski (unlikely to want the top job, but a possible as a Chief Guest, and he has the time since his Glyndebourne appointment requires him only in the summer - when the Bolshoi is closed), and the petulant Teodor Currentzis... whose adrenalin-laden conducting is matched by such a short temper that he's been fired from every opera-house in the country.
What the Bolshoi badly need is a conductor of international stature. Would they finally be ready to appoint a non-Russian to this prestigious position - something they've never done before? Could a foreigner cope with the backstage politics that makes the theatre known as "the viper's nest"?
