Gergiev concert in Caserta cancelled after protests

The Directorate of the Reggia di Caserta has ordered the cancellation of the symphonic concert conducted by Valery Gergiev, scheduled as part of the Un'Estate da Re (A King's Summer) festival for 27 July in the courtyard of the Vanvitellian Complex. The presence of the Russian conductor, criticised for his positions close to Putin, had aroused strong controversy and there were fears of possible protests organised by Ukrainian associations for Sunday evening

The latest stances against Gergiev's concert were those of several Nobel laureates with letters sent to European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, the Italian authorities and the governor of Campania, Vincenzo De Luca. While 16,000 signatures were collected by an online petition. The Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, had also intervened, stressing that 'art is free and cannot be censored', but 'propaganda, however, even if done with talent, is another thing'. For his part, De Luca, emphasising his desire to confirm the concert despite the international appeals, had described the event as 'disconcerting', wondering where 'the limit between freedom of expression of one's opinion and propaganda' was. Associations of Ukrainians in Italy were ready to organise protest initiatives and had already bought tickets for the first rows of the concert in order to make their dissent felt by Gergiev.

"The free and unquestionable decision taken by the Directorate of the Reggia di Caserta finds my full and convinced support: although due respect for the exceptional artistic quality of the event, the cancellation of the concert conducted by Maestro Gergiev, even in the light of an ideological biased instrumentalisation, obeys a logic of common sense and moral tension aimed at protecting the values of the free world'. Thus in a note, is the Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli.

Gergiev did not comment on the cancellation of his 27 July concert in Caserta. "I have no information about it," said the conductor, who heads Moscow's Bolshoi and St Petersburg's Marinsky, when asked by the Tass news agency for a reaction

It will be Italy, and not Russia, that will suffer for the cancellation of Valery Gergiev's concert in Caserta. This was stated by the Russian embassy in Italy. 'Those who think that the cancellation of Valery Gergiev's concert will harm Russia are deeply mistaken,' the embassy says in a note posted on its Telegram channel. Rather, adds the diplomatic office, 'damage will be inflicted on Italy itself, which in this way undermines its own authority and gives reason to doubt the hospitality and openness towards all those who with their talent, professionalism and sincerity bring beauty and the eternal into the world'.