The actors of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, experienced last week an unusual and extreme trauma.
During the opera "Sadko", the lever that replaced the set on stage went down and crushed to death the actor Yevgeny Kolsh, 37, who has played in the theater since 2002.
In the video taken just during the performance, the stage is seen descending and then the actors start shouting and the orchestra stops playing.
Although the actors shouted "Is there a doctor in the audience?", The audience thought it was part of the show and did not respond.
Yevgeny #Kulesh, a 37-year-old Russian actor, was crushed to death by falling scenery at Moscow's world-famous #Bolshoi Theater.
On Saturday, he was killed in an accident during a set change in the opera #Sadko.
Onlookers attempted but failed to resuscitate him.
#ActorDead pic.twitter.com/FOhLoFyUVi
- 🅽🅴🆆🆂🅵🅻🅰🆂🅷 🆃🅵 (@newsflash_TF) October 10, 2021
Most of the crowd was later taken out of the hall, while at the same time some of them helped the players lift the heavy backdrop to try to save the player who was trapped beneath it.
But despite the efforts, the paramedics and rescuers who arrived at the scene did not have much to do and they were noble in determining the death of the actor.
After the tragedy, former actors of the theater expressed harsh criticism of its maintenance and noted that it is outdated and unsafe.
Nikolai Tsiskarda, who was the lead dancer in ballet performances at the theater, said: "Many actors are injured and the situation behind the scenes is hell. I have been shouting about the conditions at the venue for 25 years and no one is listening to me. There are no social conditions for the actors."
Meanwhile, the Prosecutor General's Office in Russia opened an investigation to find out how the incident took place and what led to it.