Gergiev has been dropped by his management company over his ties to the Russian president. Marcus Felsner, who has represented Gergiev since December 2020, made a statement on Sunday. \u2018In the light of the criminal war waged by the Russian regime against the democratic and independent nation of Ukraine, and against the European open society as a whole, it has become impossible for us, and clearly unwelcome, to defend the interests of Maestro Gergiev,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra has also announced that it will cancel its longstanding annual Gergiev Festival this year if the Russian conductor doesn\u2019t revoke his support of Putin.<\/p>\n
Verbier Festival is the most recent organisation to cut ties with the Russian conductor. Its founder and director Martin T:son Engstroem released a statement today saying he had asked for and accepted the resignation of Gergiev as music director of the Verbier Festival Orchestra.<\/p>\n
Gergiev\u2019s concert appearances have been cancelled across the globe, with the Metropolitan Opera\u2019s music director Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin stepping in to replace him at New York\u2019s Carnegie Hall for three weekend performances with the Vienna Philharmonic. The venue has also cancelled two upcoming performances by the Mariinsky Orchestra that Gergiev was scheduled to conduct.<\/p>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\nThe Metropolitan Opera released a video on its Facebook page this weekend<\/strong><\/a>, with a statement from its general manager Peter Gelb. He announced that the company would \u2018no longer engage with artists or institutions that support Putin or are supported by him \u2013 not until the invasion or killing has stopped, order has been restitutions have been made.\u2019<\/p>\n Although Gelb has not directly stated which institutions and artists will be affected by this decision, it\u2019s been suggested that those most prominent will be the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, its general and artistic director and the Met\u2019s former principal guest conductor Valery Gergiev, and soprano Anna Netrebko.<\/p>\n The day before the Met\u2019s statement, Anna Netrebko shared a post on her Instagram stating her love for her country and her sympathy for her friends suffering in Ukraine. \u2018I want to add one thing, however,\u2019 she wrote. \u2018Forcing artists, or any public figure, to voice their political opinions in public and to denounce their homeland is not right. This should be a free choice. Like many of my colleagues, I am not a political person, I am not an expert in politics. I am an artist and my purpose is to unite people across political divides.\u2019<\/p>\n Gergiev has been a supporter of Putin<\/strong><\/a> since they first met in 1992, and in 2013 was awarded the Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation Prize, a prize awarded during the Stalin era.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the first time his friendship with and support of Putin has been criticised. In 2013, LGBTQ+ campaigner Peter Tatchell walked onto stage at the Barbican<\/strong><\/a> to interrupt his concert with the London Symphony Orchestra, in protest of his support for the anti-gay laws in Russia.<\/p>\n