Bolshoi performer Yevgeny Kulesh dies after being crushed by stage scenery

A performer died after being fatally crushed by stage scenery in front of a horrified audience at a theater. Yevgeny Kulesh, 38, lost his life while performing in Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's opera Sadko. The accident took place on stage at Moscow's famous Bolshoi Theatre. Despite emergency medical efforts, staff could not save him. During a scene change, Kulesh was caught under the backdrop, which crushed him; the show continued while spectators had no idea of the horror unfolding before them. Multiple sources say the opera was "immediately stopped" and Bolshoi officials asked the audience to leave the auditorium, according to the BBC. A member of the audience told Russian news outlet Ria.ru that she suddenly heard someone shouting for medical assistance and an ambulance, then announced that a person had "got hit by the backdrop." The witness also said the orchestra abruptly stopped playing and that within under a minute the curtain came down and the audience was told to exit. Video of the tragic event has appeared online, showing members of the cast in deep distress as they urgently called on Bolshoi staff to lift the backdrop off Yevgeny. Moscow's Investigative Committee said in an official statement that the accident and the performer's death were being investigated. Reports indicate that one factor in his death was that the actor made the terrible mistake of moving in the wrong direction while the scenery was being lowered. Yevgeny had worked with the Bolshoi Theatre since 2002.