Director General of the Bolshoi Theatre Anatoly Iksanov said that the English audience and critics differ in their assessments of the new ballet, "Romeo and Juliet."

"Our new work 'Romeo and Juliet' [choreographed by Radu Pokletaru and directed by Declan Donnellan] enjoys huge success with the English audience," the director general said in a RIA Novosti interview.

According to him, the critics' negative reviews were because the Bolshoi Theatre had broken classical stereotypes and created an unusual ballet.

"We did this deliberately to show the modern development of the Bolshoi Theatre," Mr. Iksanov stressed.

He noted that on the other hand, the critics were jealous about William Shakespeare and that Russians were also jealous of foreign interpretations of Russian classics like Chekhov, Gogol, Ostrovsky, and others.

In his words, he liked the impresario and was satisfied with the London tour. On August 7, Mr. Iksanov will go to London to see the last ballet performance, "Pharaoh's Daughter."

After that, he will negotiate with the impresario for future joint projects and tours.