La Scala, the famous opera house in Milan, Italy, will open its operatic season in December with the opera Boris Godunov by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky. A choice criticized by the Ukrainian consul in Milan, but that the director of the theater defends.
“We are not praising anyone and certainly not Mr. Poutine, it’s ridiculous”, said Tuesday at a press conference the director of La Scala, Dominique Meyer, who sees in this opera a “masterpiece work of art history”. La Scala, he recalled, organized a concert for the benefit of the victims of the war in Ukraine and welcomed children from the Kyiv dance school.
The Ukrainian consul in Milan, Andrii Kartysh, had asked the Italian theater to “review” its opening programming, seeing in it a risk of “propaganda elements” in favor of Vladimir Putin.
Recall that, in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, several performances by Russian artists were canceled in solidarity with Ukraine. The London Opera has removed the Bolshoi Ballet from its programming, while the Philarmonie de Paris has done the same with the orchestra of the Marinski Theater in Saint Petersburg. Cardiff Opera, Wales, also deprogrammed Russian composer Tchaikovsky.
With Agence France-Presse