(Paris) The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris is canceling the coming next season of Valery Gergiev, a famous Russian conductor close to President Vladimir Putin, due to events in Ukraine, the Parisian institution said on Wednesday.
Posted at 12:05 p.m.
Valery Gergiev was to perform there with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. The concert will nevertheless be maintained with another conductor. The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées has also canceled the recital by Russian pianist Denis Matsuev, also a support from Vladimir Poutine, scheduled for May 31, 2022.
Valery Gergiev found himself ostracized from the cultural scene in a few days, paying the price for years of support for Vladimir Putin.
Since the launch of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, several orchestras and festivals in Europe and the United States have canceled their commitments with him, including the Philharmonie de Paris, the prestigious New York venue Carnegie Hall and even La Scala in Milan. His main employer, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, also fired him.
His closeness to Vladimir Putin, whom he has known since 1992, and his loyalty to the Russian president, particularly during the annexation of Crimea, as well as his participation in concerts in bombarded South Ossetia and in Palmyra alongside the Syrian army, have placed him at the center of many controversies.
In addition, the Opéra national de Paris, “deeply shocked by the invasion of Ukraine”, will take care “not to engage with Russian cultural institutions or with artists who have publicly expressed their support for the Russian regime”. .