Latest news with #Gergiev
Euractiv
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Euractiv
Italy split over pro-Putin conductor's concert
Italy split over pro-Putin conductor's concert ROME – Valery Gergiev, the world-renowned orchestra conductor with links to the Kremlin, prepares to perform at a state-backed music festival in southern Italy on 27 July despite mounting concern over his performance. Gergiev, the Kremlin's cultural envoy and longtime ally of Vladimir Putin, is set to perform at the 'Un'estate da Re' festival at the Royal Palace of Caserta later this month. 'Art must remain free,' said Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano, while warning the concert risks 'sending the wrong message' amid current geopolitical tensions. Julija Navalnaya, widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, called Gergiev 'a promoter of Putin's criminal policies' and urged Italians to stand firm against Russian propaganda. Regional Governor Vincenzo De Luca, who supports the event, dismissed calls for cancellation, arguing that silencing voices 'does not help peace – it only fuels hatred.' For now, the concert remains on the programme. (cs) (Alessia Peretti)
Indian Express
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Italy minister warns concert with pro-Putin conductor risks turning into propaganda coup
A concert in Italy by a top Russian conductor shunned in the West since the invasion of Ukraine could send the wrong message, the Italian culture minister said on Tuesday, stopping short of asking organisers to cancel it. Valery Gergiev – regarded as close to Russian President Vladimir Putin – is expected to lead a local orchestra and soloists from St Petersburg's Mariinsky Orchestra on July 27 at the Reggia di Caserta palace near Naples. The event has drawn protests from Italian politicians and international activists, including the wife of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who have all urged Italy to cancel it. 'There is a big problem' with the festival, Yulia Navalnaya wrote in an op-ed on Tuesday's la Repubblica newspaper, calling Gergiev a 'conscious and active accomplice of Putin's regime'. Gergiev, 72, did not immediately comment. Italy's Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli said in a statement: 'Art is free and cannot be censored. Propaganda, however, even if done with talent, is something else.' The minister said that the concert could 'turn a high-level but objectively controversial and divisive musical event into a sounding board for Russian propaganda'. Giuli added that the centre-left regional authority of Campania, which organised and paid for the 'Un'Estate da RE' festival, was free to choose which events to host. The president of Campania, Vincenzo De Luca, rejected criticism, telling reporters that blocking cultural exchanges 'does not help peace, but only serves to fuel the rivers of hatred'. De Luca, a critic of Israel's military campaign in Gaza, said last week Gergiev had been invited, along with Israeli conductor Daniel Oren, to keep 'channels of communication open even with those who do not think like us'. Italy's right-wing government has supported Ukraine and international sanctions against Moscow. In 2022, several Western cultural institutions, including Milan's La Scala, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and New York's Carnegie Hall, severed ties with Gergiev over his failure to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A year after, he was made director of Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre, despite being banished from many international concert halls. Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation wrote last week to the Italian interior minister, urging him to deny entry to Gergiev, and to the culture minister and the director of the Reggia di Caserta asking them to cancel the concert.
Straits Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Italy minister warns concert with pro-Putin conductor risks turning into propaganda coup
Find out what's new on ST website and app. FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) awards Mariinsky Theatre's Artistic Director Valery Gergiev during a ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, September 22, 2016. REUTERS/Ivan Sekretarev/Pool/File Photo ROME - A concert in Italy by a top Russian conductor shunned in the West since the invasion of Ukraine could send the wrong message, the Italian culture minister said on Tuesday, stopping short of asking organisers to cancel it. Valery Gergiev - regarded as close to Russian President Vladimir Putin - is expected to lead a local orchestra and soloists from St Petersburg's Mariinsky Orchestra on July 27 at the Reggia di Caserta palace near Naples. The event has drawn protests from Italian politicians and international activists, including the wife of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who have all urged Italy to cancel it. "There is a big problem" with the festival, Yulia Navalnaya wrote in an op-ed on Tuesday's la Repubblica newspaper, calling Gergiev a "conscious and active accomplice of Putin's regime". Gergiev, 72, did not immediately comment. Italy's Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli said in a statement: "Art is free and cannot be censored. Propaganda, however, even if done with talent, is something else." The minister said that the concert could "turn a high-level but objectively controversial and divisive musical event into a sounding board for Russian propaganda". Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Las Vegas Sands' new development part of S'pore's broader, more ambitious transformation: PM Wong Singapore Current economic headwinds do not dampen outlook for new MBS building: Las Vegas Sands president Business MAS records net profit of $19.7 billion, fuelled by investment gains Singapore $3b money laundering case: MinLaw acts against 4 law firms and 1 lawyer over seized properties Singapore Man charged with attempted murder of woman at Kallang Wave Mall Singapore Ex-cleaner jailed over safety lapses linked to guard's death near 1-Altitude rooftop bar Singapore Singapore CDL's long-time director Phillip Yeo to depart after boardroom feud Singapore 'Nobody deserves to be alone': Why Mummy and Acha have fostered over 20 children in the past 22 years Giuli added that the centre-left regional authority of Campania, which organised and paid for the "Un'Estate da RE" festival, was free to choose which events to host. The president of Campania, Vincenzo De Luca, rejected criticism, telling reporters that blocking cultural exchanges "does not help peace, but only serves to fuel the rivers of hatred". De Luca, a critic of Israel's military campaign in Gaza, said last week Gergiev had been invited, along with Israeli conductor Daniel Oren, to keep "channels of communication open even with those who do not think like us". Italy's right-wing government has supported Ukraine and international sanctions against Moscow. In 2022, several Western cultural institutions, including Milan's La Scala, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and New York's Carnegie Hall, severed ties with Gergiev over his failure to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A year after, he was made director of Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre, despite being banished from many international concert halls. Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation wrote last week to the Italian interior minister, urging him to deny entry to Gergiev, and to the culture minister and the director of the Reggia di Caserta asking them to cancel the concert. REUTERS
Straits Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Italy faces calls to cancel concert led by pro-Putin conductor
Find out what's new on ST website and app. FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) awards Mariinsky Theatre's Artistic Director Valery Gergiev during a ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, September 22, 2016. REUTERS/Ivan Sekretarev/Pool/File Photo ROME - The wife of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is urging Italy to cancel a concert by a Russian conductor who has been shunned in the West since the invasion of Ukraine. Valery Gergiev is scheduled to perform on July 27 at a festival in the Reggia di Caserta palace near Naples, leading a local philharmonic orchestra and soloists from the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra in St Petersburg, which he leads. "There is a big problem" with the festival, Yulia Navalnaya wrote in an op-ed for Tuesday's la Repubblica newspaper, calling Gergiev an "intimate friend" of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a cultural ambassador for his administration. "How is it possible that in the summer of 2025, three years after the start of the conflict in Ukraine, Valery Gergiev, Putin's accomplice (...) is suddenly invited to Italy to participate in a festival," she wrote. Gergiev did not immediately comment on her remarks. In 2022, several Western cultural institutions, including Milan's La Scala, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and New York's Carnegie Hall severed ties with Gergiev over his failure to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The head of the Campania region, which is organising the festival, said Gergiev had been invited to keep "channels of communication open even with those who do not think like us." Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Business MAS records net profit of $19.7 billion, fuelled by investment gains Business Singapore financial sector growth doubles in 2024, assets managed cross $6 trillion in a first: MAS Singapore $3b money laundering case: MinLaw acts against 4 law firms and 1 lawyer over seized properties Singapore Man charged with attempted murder of woman at Kallang Wave Mall Singapore Ex-cleaner jailed over safety lapses linked to guard's death near 1-Altitude rooftop bar Singapore SJI International resumes overseas trips amid ongoing probe into student's death in Maldives in 2024 Singapore Sengkang-Punggol LRT gets 15.8 per cent capacity boost with new trains Singapore 'Nobody deserves to be alone': Why Mummy and Acha have fostered over 20 children in the past 22 years In this spirit, the festival had also invited Israeli conductor Daniel Oren, regional president and centre-left politician Vincenzo De Luca, a critic of Israel's military campaign in Gaza. "We are not asking these men of culture to answer for the political choices of the leaders of their respective countries," he said. Italy's right-wing government has supported Ukraine and international sanctions against Moscow. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office and the Ministry of Culture declined comment on Gergiev's invitation. Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation wrote last week to the Italian interior minister, urging him to deny entry to Gergiev, and to the culture minister and the director of the Reggia di Caserta, asking them to cancel the concert. Navalny died suddenly in February 2024 in an Arctic penal colony at the age of 47. He said the charges against him, including fraud and extremism, were trumped up to silence him. Gergiev, 72, was made director of Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre in 2023, despite being banished from Western concert halls. REUTERS
Times
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Putin's favourite conductor to perform in Italy despite protests
A star Russian conductor and steadfast supporter of President Putin has been booked to perform in Italy later this month, provoking outrage from politicians and activists. The concert, funded by the Campania region and part of a summer music festival, will be Valery Gergiev's first appearance in western Europe since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Gergiev, 72, will conduct the Giuseppe Verdi Philharmonic Orchestra of Salerno alongside soloists from the Mariinsky Theatre of St Petersburg in a programme at the Reggia di Caserta, a Unesco-listed former Bourbon royal palace near Naples. It will feature Verdi, Tchaikovsky and Ravel on July 27. His appearance was confirmed by Vincenzo De Luca, Campania's centre-left governor, despite Gergiev having been widely shunned for the past three years. Pina Picierno, an MEP from De Luca's Democratic Party, said the event should be cancelled to prevent 'taxpayers' money ending up in the pockets of a supporter of a criminal regime'.
