Italy cancels Valery Gergiev concert over conductor's Putin connection

Rome -A concert by Russian conductor Valery Gergiev scheduled to take place at the Royal Palace of Caserta has been cancelled following mounting political and public pressure over his links to President Vladimir Putin.

The performance, set for July 27 as part of the classical music festival “Un’Estate da Re”, was officially cancelled on the morning of Monday by the management of the historic site. The decision was communicated to Scabec, the regional cultural agency responsible for organising the festival on behalf of the Campania Region.

The move has received cross-party support within Italy, with the Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, declaring his full and unequivocal backing. He described the cancellation as a morally responsible choice aimed at defending the values of the free world, even while acknowledging the artistic calibre of the event.

The Russian Embassy in Rome swiftly condemned the decision. Ambassador Alexey Paramonov stated that anyone who believed cancelling Gergiev’s appearance would damage Russia was “deeply mistaken”, and instead accused Italy of harming its own international reputation for hospitality and cultural openness. “The responsibility for this regrettable turn of events lies entirely with Italy,” he said.

Gergiev, 72, is a world-renowned conductor with leading roles at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg and the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. However, he has long been criticised in the West for his close ties to the Kremlin, particularly his public support for Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and, more recently, for remaining silent on the war in Ukraine. When asked by the Russian news agency Tass about the cancellation, Gergiev replied: “I know nothing about this. I have not been informed.”

The concert had already sparked protest from Ukrainian organisations in Italy. Some members had purchased front-row tickets with the intent of making their opposition known during the performance. Oles Horodetskyy, president of the Christian Association of Ukrainians in Italy, called the cancellation a “victory for common sense”. Opposition to Gergiev’s presence had also come from prominent voices abroad, including Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Several Nobel laureates reportedly wrote to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urging intervention, and a public petition against the concert garnered over 16,000 signatures.

Not all voices within Italy were in agreement. Campania’s regional governor, Vincenzo De Luca, criticised the cancellation as “bewildering”, and questioned where the line lay between freedom of expression and political propaganda. “They’re outraged over a concert, but where is the outrage over Gaza?” he asked, taking a swipe at the national government’s priorities.

Political leaders from across the spectrum welcomed the decision. Pina Picierno, Vice-President of the European Parliament and a member of the centre-left Democratic Party, celebrated the outcome on social media, writing: “We explained, we fought, we believed, and we won! See you outside the palace on Sunday night with European flags to celebrate the strength and beauty of democracy.” Riccardo Magi, leader of +Europa, noted that Gergiev had recently staged an opera in a pro-Putin tone, arguing that he had become a tool of Kremlin propaganda. Senator Marco Lombardo of Azione added that he hoped the mayor of Bologna would follow suit by cancelling a forthcoming concert by pianist Romanovsky, another artist accused of aligning with Russian state narratives.

The cancellation has sparked a wider debate about the role of artists in wartime, the boundaries between cultural exchange and political endorsement, and the responsibilities of European institutions when it comes to hosting figures associated with authoritarian regimes.

PS