After the Vienna Philharmonic and New York’s Carnegie Hall announced on Thursday evening that they would not be conducting the concert series scheduled for today, Friday, by the star conductor Valery Gergiev, who is friendly to Putin, Milan’s Scala has now followed suit. According to Italian media reports, Milan’s mayor Giuseppe Sala and Scala director Dominique Meyer gave the conductor an ultimatum. And Munich threatens Gergiev with expulsion.
“A ‘Pique Dame’ is scheduled for La Scala under the direction of the Russian maestro, who has repeatedly declared his closeness to Putin. Together with artistic director Dominique Meyer, I now call on him to take a clear position against this invasion. Should he do so If we don’t do this, we see ourselves forced to refrain from working together,” says the letter from Milan’s city manager Salas. At the start of the engagement on Wednesday, Gergiev was honored with a few boos, but mostly applause. However, the message of peace requested by the Italian theater union in advance did not materialize.
In the meantime, Munich’s Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter has also threatened to throw the chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra out. “I made my position clear to Valery Gergiev and asked him to also clearly and unequivocally distance himself from the brutal war of aggression that Putin is waging against Ukraine and now especially against our twin city of Kiev,” said the SPD politician in a statement: “If Valery Gergiev has not clearly positioned himself here by Monday, he can no longer remain chief conductor of our Philharmonic.” The Russian has headed the orchestra since 2015.
The director of the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, Christoph Lieben-Seutter, is also threatening to cancel concerts conducted by Gergiev. “Valeri Gergiev is an important artistic partner and long-time friend of the Elbphilharmonie. I therefore very much hope that he will set a sign of distancing himself from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” said the artistic director from Vienna on Friday. Otherwise, the concerts of the Mariinsky Orchestra from St. Petersburg planned for Easter week in the Elbphilharmonie could not take place under his direction.
Festspielhaus Baden-Baden also requires clear positioning
And finally, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden also spoke up. Benedikt Stampa, director of the 2,500-seat opera house, which has scheduled two concerts with the maestro in July and a new festival called “Russian Winter” in December, also demanded from Gergiev a clear positioning in the cause – even if you think about it, of course that freedom of expression is hardly possible in Russia. “Nevertheless, we will support the red line that is currently being drawn around Valery Gergiev as a political figure and act in solidarity with all democrats in the sense of a clear stance,” said Stampa.
Yesterday evening, the Vienna Philharmonic and Carnegie Hall announced that Yannick Nézet-Séguin, music director of the Metropolitan Opera, would take over from Gergiev for the series of concerts in New York scheduled until Sunday. Another conductor is also being sought for the two subsequent concerts on March 1st and 2nd in Naples, Florida.
The performances of the 68-year-old Gergiev have come under criticism in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, since the conductor has long been considered a dedicated supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He had appeared in election commercials for the Kremlin ruler or signed an open letter in 2014 supporting the annexation of Crimea.
Gergiev, who comes from a North Ossetian family, is also considered the most powerful figure in the Russian cultural scene, having headed the St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theater since 1996. Since the annexation of Crimea by Russia, protesters have been found again and again in front of the concert halls at Gergiev’s performances. A few Ukrainian activists also gathered in front of Carnegie Hall to protest against the Maestro – protests whose dimensions would probably have been much larger given the current development. (apa/dpa)
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