Valery Gergiev, a famous Russian conductor close to Vladimir Putin, who conducted the premiere of Tchaikovsky
's Queen of Spades
at La Scala in Milan on Wednesday, was asked by the theater on Thursday to clarify his position on the invasion of Ukraine.
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La Scala director Dominique Meyer, together with the mayor of Milan Giuseppe Sala, sent a message to the Russian maestro asking him to make a statement pleading for a
"peaceful solution"
to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, AFP told AFP. a spokesperson for the Milan scene.
In case of refusal, the presence of Valery Gergiev at the next performances of
La Dame de Pique
, scheduled between March 5 and 13, could be compromised.
Giuseppe Sala, who is also chairman of the board of directors of La Scala, warned Thursday during a public debate in Milan that in the absence of an answer,
"we may find another maestro"
for the next performances .
of the opera.
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General director of the prestigious Mariinsky Theater in Saint Petersburg, Valery Gergiev, 68, is one of the most sought-after conductors in the world.
His closeness to Putin, whom he has known since 1992, his declarations on the annexation of Crimea or
Pussy Riot
, concerts in bombarded South Ossetia and in Palmyra alongside the Syrian army, have earned him many controversies this last decade.
Asked by AFP in Paris in 2018, Valery Gergiev said he did not want to talk about politics, but welcomed the re-election for a new term of Vladimir Putin, whom he said he meets
"five to six times a year"
.
"He won the election, something the Western world has trouble understanding
," he said at the time.