A Russian actor has been fatally injured, falling from the stage at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.
The theater said Yevgeny Kulesh was killed in an accident during a set change at Sadko Opera on Saturday.
Investigators say they are observing the circumstances surrounding the death of the 37-year-old performer.
In a statement issued Saturday evening, Bolshoi said: "The performance stopped immediately, people were asked to leave the hall."
It is believed that Kulesh went in the wrong direction during the descent and then crashed.
Shocked spectators said on social media that they initially believed the accident was a staged trick.
However, the reality of the incident quickly became apparent when the performers reacted with horror and some on stage shouted "call the ambulance, there is blood".
Local media reported that Kulesh had been performing in the theater since 2002.
It is not the first tragic incident to occur at the world-famous theater.
In July 2013, a well-known violinist passed away after falling into the orchestra pit. Viktor Sedov was a veteran of the opera orchestra, playing there for four decades.
