Pashinyan: Resolving the issue of being the director of the Orbelyan  Opera and Ballet Theater cannot be based on personal sympathies or  dislikes

ArmInfo."Judging by some publications in the media, one gets the impression that Konstantin Orbelyan was left from the works of Opera, while he was relieved of  his post as director, and prior to the order he was director and  artistic director," said Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan,  taking the group Employees of the Armenian National Academic Theatre  of Opera and Ballet named after Alexander Spendiaryan.

Culture workers held a protest outside the government building of the  republic this morning, demanding the cancellation of the order of  acting Minister of Culture Nazeni Gharibyan on the dismissal of the  director of the theater Konstantin Orbelyan.

According to the press service of the head of government, Pashinyan  during the meeting offered to lead the discussion based on facts.  First of all, as the Prime Minister noted, the Ministry of Justice  recorded on August 11, 2018 that Konstantin Orbelyan was appointed  director in violation of the law. And the discussion in the Ministry  of Justice was initiated on the basis of complaints from citizens.  "The law obliges the government and the Ministry of Culture to  terminate the authority of a person appointed or elected to the post  in the executive body by decision of the authorized body if there has  been a violation of the law," Pashinyan explained.

In addition, according to the head of the Cabinetof Ministers, he was  informed that in 2017, Orbelyan 12 times (110 days) was sent to  various countries and actually was out of work for 135 days. In 2018,  194 days were absent, of which 20 days were on unpaid leave.  According to the results of inspections, the Ministry of Finance of  Armenia for 2017 recorded violations amounting to 92 million drams,  of which during 2017- 2018 10 million 576 thousand 400 drams were  restored. "If the amount is restored, then the violations were  recognized as such," he stressed.

At the same time, according to Pashinyan, violations of the law were  recorded several times in the theater's activities. Numerous  employees were fired in violation of the law. The Ministry instructed  to eliminate the violations, but Orbelyan refused to do so,  presenting unreasonable reasons.

At the same time, from the middle of 2016 Orbelyan himself was  appointed artistic director of the theater.  On February 3, 2017, on  the orders of the Minister of Culture, the director's obligations  were also imposed on him, and on August 2, 2017, Orbelyan was  appointed to the position of director out of competition, continuing  to occupy the staff unit of the artistic director. And by order of  the director of the Opera and Ballet Theater of May 29, 2017, he was  also reinstated as chief conductor, who is called "artistic director  - chief conductor. In fact, as the premier pointed out, Konstantin  Orbelyan occupies three states - director, artistic director and  conductor.

The head of the government assured: "If at least one of the points  presented by the Ministry of Culture does not correspond to reality,  the plenipotentiary person will immediately be released from work. If  the law is in effect, then everyone must obey him," Nikol Pashinyan  stressed. According to him, the solution of the question cannot be  based on personal sympathies or antipathies.

To recall, First Deputy Minister of Culture of Armenia, Nazeni  Gharibyan, by decree of March 28 of this year relieved Konstantin  Orbelyan of the post of Director of the Armenian National Academic  Theatre of Opera and Ballet named after Alexander Spendiaryan. As the  basis of K.  Orbelyan's release from office, the Ministry of Culture  cites article 15 of the Law of the Republic of Armenia <On state  non-profit organizations>, which reads: pedagogical and creative  work. Konstantin Orbelyan, besides the director of the Armenian  National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet named after Alexander  Spendiaryan, also held the position of artistic director.  On March  29, Gharibyan announced that the name of the new director of the  Opera Theater will be known on April 1. Orbelyan himself stated that  in this case he would leave the theater altogether.

Kostantin Orbelyan, along with a brilliant pianist career, has also  developed a wide range of activities in the opera field as a  conductor and artistic director. In particular, in 1991-2009 he was  artistic director and chief conductor of the State Academic Chamber  Orchestra of Russia. In 2003, Orbelyan, the first foreigner who does  not have Russian citizenship, was awarded the honorary title of  Honored Artist of Russia. In 2012, he was awarded the Order of  Friendship for his great contribution to the popularization of  Russian culture outside Russia.