Gergiev concert in Caserta cancelled following political and public outcry

The planned return of Russian conductor Valery Gergiev to the European stage has been cancelled amid growing controversy. His concert, scheduled for 27 July at the Royal Palace of Caserta as part of the “Un’Estate da Re” festival, was called off by the venue’s management on Monday, 21 July, according to ANSA.

The decision comes after intense backlash from multiple fronts — including the Italian government, EU officials, Ukrainian civil groups, and Russian dissidents — over Gergiev’s longstanding ties to Vladimir Putin and his refusal to denounce the war in Ukraine.

The performance, which would have marked Gergiev’s first appearance in the EU since the start of the invasion, was to feature works by Verdi, Tchaikovsky, and Ravel, performed with the Orchestra of the Teatro Verdi di Salerno and soloists from the Mariinsky Orchestra. The event was largely funded by the Campania Region through EU Cohesion Funds, which further fueled the controversy.

Pina Picierno, Vice-President of the European Parliament, had earlier called the event “unacceptable,” urging that EU money not be used to support a Kremlin-aligned artist. Italian Minister of Culture Alessandro Giulini also questioned the appropriateness of Gergiev’s return, while calls for cancellation escalated through the weekend.

Adding to the pressure, EFE reports that over 700 intellectuals and cultural figures, including multiple Nobel Prize laureates, signed two open letters demanding the concert’s cancellation. Signatories include Oleksandra Matviichuk, Oleg Orlov, and Svetlana Gannushkina (all affiliated with Memorial, Nobel Peace Prize 2022), writer Herta Müller (Nobel Prize in Literature 2009), choreographer Alexei Ratmansky, and author Jonathan Littell.

The first letter, addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Campania President Vincenzo De Luca, also called for an investigation into the use of EU funds for events seen as promoting Russian propaganda. A second letter urged the creation of a parliamentary watchdog to counter such influence in Italy.

In response to the cancellation, Russia’s Foreign Ministry accused Italy of discrimination. Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova expressed regret that Italian audiences would miss the chance “to experience great Russian music performed by a renowned Russian conductor,” and condemned the decision as a “discriminatory attempt at ‘cancel culture,’ carried out by the Italian authorities.”