Organizers of an Italian music festival have officially cancelled an upcoming concert featuring renowned Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, following significant backlash from human rights advocates and critics of the Kremlin. Gergiev, a prominent ally of President Vladimir Putin, was set to lead a performance at the Royal Palace of Caserta near Naples this month, showcasing artists from the esteemed Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg.
The decision has drawn praise from officials, including Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli, who labeled it a display of "common sense" aimed at upholding the "values of the free world." Gergiev, aged 72, has faced widespread bans from various Western venues since the onset of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which he has notably refrained from condemning.
Ukraine's government vocally opposed Gergiev's performance, dubbing him as "Putin's mouthpiece" and arguing that he should not be allowed to perform abroad while Russian military actions continue. This sentiment was echoed by Yulia Navalnaya, widow of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who took to social media to express support for the cancellation, insisting that no artist aligned with the "current dictatorship" in Russia should be welcomed in Europe.
In response to the decision, Moscow's ambassador in Italy branded the cancellation a "scandalous situation," criticizing it as part of a larger trend of erasing Russian culture from international stages. Gergiev, who is also the director of both the Bolshoi Theatre and the Mariinsky Theatre, previously enjoyed strong ties to significant Western institutions such as Milan’s La Scala and New York’s Carnegie Hall, but those relationships have soured since the conflict began.
Last week, as Italy hosted high-level discussions among European leaders focused on supporting Ukraine's recovery post-war, the controversy surrounding Gergiev further underscored the intertwined nature of culture and global politics. Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has been a stalwart critic of Putin, and her culture ministry previously supported the Un'Estate da RE festival, against which the latest backlash unfolded.
