A performer at Moscow’s renowned Bolshoi Theatre was killed on Saturday in an accident on stage during an opera, the theatre said.

The Bolshoi, one of Russia’s most prestigious theatres, said the incident occurred during a set change in Sadko, an opera by Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

Videos showed part of the set falling slowly, and panicked performers pleading with staff to lift the prop. It is believed the performer, a 37-year-old man, went the wrong way as the set descended, trapping him underneath.

“The opera was immediately stopped and the audience was asked to leave,” the theatre said in comments carried by the Interfax news agency.