European culture is sanctioning Russian because of the situation in Ukraine.
Russia’s aggression in Ukraine has had a secondary effect on cultural exchange, with even the famous conductor Valery Gergiev falling victim to the sanctions, AFP reported, quoted by BTA.
Frenchman Laurent Iller, artistic director of the ballet troupe at the Stanislavsky Theater in Moscow, has resigned over the geopolitical situation.
Russia has also been denied participation in the Eurovision Song Contest.
The Royal Opera House in London has canceled a visit to the Bolshoi Ballet, scheduled for the summer, due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Due to his closeness to President Putin, Valery Gergiev was removed from the program of the Dvořák Prague Festival, where he was to perform with the Munich Philharmonic in September. He was replaced for a series of concerts at Carnegie Hall in New York for the same reasons. Milan Rock Director Dominique Mayer and Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala have asked Gergiev to make a declaration on a “peaceful solution” to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Otherwise, he will not take part in the performances of “Dama Pika” from March 5 to 13.
Russian pianist Denis Matsuev also dropped out of concerts at the Carnegie Hall program. In 2014, he supported Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Days after the mayor of Munich threatened to fire a Russian conductor close to Putin, Valery Gergiev, urging him to officially distance himself from the war, legendary Russian opera singer Anna Netrebko posted a post on the social network Facebook, in which he shared his opinion on what is happening in Ukraine. She says she is against the war and has many friends and relatives in Ukraine. Here is what Anna Netrebko’s post says:
“I took some time to think because the situation is really too serious to comment without thinking. First, I’m against the war. I am Russian and I love my homeland, but I have many relatives and friends in Ukraine and pain and suffering, I really want my war to end and people to live in peace, but I want to add something: forcing artists and public figures to publicly express their political views and condemn their homeland is unacceptable! it must be a free choice for each of them. And I, like many of my colleagues, am not a politician. I am a musician and my goal is to bring people together, overcoming all political differences. “
This is the first time the soprano has posted on social media a position on the situation between Russia and Ukraine. She did not have to appear on stage with her husband, Yosif Eivazov, on February 25, but was forced to cancel her concert in Denmark due to growing pressure and threats of protests over her close contact with Putin.
Measures against Russia’s cultural presence have been taken in several Eastern European countries. In Estonia, the Laba Lava Theater canceled St. Petersburg Day in Narva from March 1st to 5th. In Slovakia, the National Philharmonic Orchestra removed Prokopiev’s cantata “Alexander Nevsky” from its program “to avoid possible misunderstandings over the text” of the work. In Lithuania, the rock band Brain Storm has canceled its tour of Russia, the National Opera has announced that it will play the Ukrainian national anthem before each performance and will no longer invite foreign performers who do not condemn the Russian attack.
In Poland, Deputy Culture Minister Jaroslav Selin said that despite “wonderful” Russian culture, music and literature, “neo-imperialist conceptions of Moscow’s leaders are crazy” and said intense cultural co-operation with Russia was not possible.
The French artistic director of the ballet troupe at the Stanislavsky Theater has resigned
“I resigned yesterday, today it will be announced on the theater’s website, I am leaving Moscow tomorrow because of the situation,” Laurent Iller told FEBRUARY 27. Frenchman Laurent Iller, artistic director of the ballet troupe at the Stanislavsky Theater in Moscow, has resigned over the geopolitical situation, AFP reported. Laurent Iller was appointed to this position five years ago. He is the second Frenchman to lead a ballet troupe in Russia, almost 150 years after the famous choreographer Marius Petipa, who directed the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg. Considered one of the most brilliant French ballet dancers of his generation, Iler renewed the repertoire of the Russian troupe, which is the third most important after that of Bolshoi in Moscow and Mariinsky in St. Petersburg.
