The Royal Theater has announced this Friday that it has decided to suspend the six performances of the play
La bayadera
that the emblematic Bolshoi Ballet was going to offer on its stage in May due "to the war unleashed by Russia in Ukraine, which is causing a serious crisis in the world and a painful humanitarian emergency”, explains the Madrid Coliseum in a statement.
The institution regrets not having this prestigious Russian company, a world leader in classical dance, "whose director, Vladimir Urin, has spoken publicly this week in favor of Ukraine and against the war," the note recalls.
The cancellation comes after last Sunday the artistic team that represented at the Royal Theater its last performance of the opera
The Twilight of the Gods
, by Wagner, showed its solidarity with the victims by wrapping the corpse of its protagonist in the Ukrainian flag , Siegfried, killed in the final scene.
More information
The war crushes Russian culture
The Madrid Coliseum thus joins the numerous institutions that in recent days have decided to cancel performances by Russian artists due to their country's invasion of Ukraine.
Within Spain, the Peralada Music Festival announced the suspension of performances by the Saint Petersburg Mariinsky Theater Ballet, another of the season's major classical dance events, scheduled for July 8 and 9.
That same day, the Liceu de Barcelona confirmed that the soprano Anna Netrebko will not sing at her 175th anniversary concert on April 3.
The singer, close to President Vladimir Putin,
He had been in the spotlight for days after he published a message on social networks last Saturday in which he lamented the war but also the international pressure he was receiving to speak out "against his homeland."
Given the hostility she received from her, she herself decided to cancel several of her upcoming engagements, arguing that she preferred to stay away from the stage for a while.
Yesterday the New York Metropolitan Opera reported that it will not have her for the next two seasons.
"In the case of someone so closely related to Putin, denouncing the war is not enough," the director general of the institution, Peter Gelb, told the newspaper.
she herself decided to cancel several upcoming commitments arguing that she preferred to stay away from the stage for a while.
Yesterday the New York Metropolitan Opera reported that it will not have her for the next two seasons.
"In the case of someone so closely related to Putin, denouncing the war is not enough," the director general of the institution, Peter Gelb, told the newspaper.
she herself decided to cancel several upcoming commitments arguing that she preferred to stay away from the stage for a while.
Yesterday the New York Metropolitan Opera reported that it will not have her for the next two seasons.
"In the case of someone so closely related to Putin, denouncing the war is not enough," the director general of the institution, Peter Gelb, told the newspaper.
The New York Times
.
Another great victim is the conductor Valery Gerguiev, a declared friend of Putin, who has refused to publicly condemn the attack, which has earned him the cancellation of international concerts (Carnegie Hall, Paris Philharmonic), the termination of his contract at the Scala in Milan and his dismissal as director of the Munich Philharmonic.
The boycotts have been cascading since last week.
Very forceful has been the response from the United Kingdom, where the tour that the Siberian State Ballet had underway has been stopped;
and London's Royal Opera House has canceled the Bolshoi's summer dance season.
The Bolshoi, for its part, has suspended the performance that the Spanish Placido Domingo planned to offer next March 8 at its headquarters.
The war is also complicating the activity of the headquarters of the State Museum of Russian Art of Saint Petersburg in Malaga.
The center is still open but it will not be able to renew its current exhibitions as the economic transfers committed by the City Council are not possible due to the sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, as announced this Friday by the mayor, Francisco de la Torre.
The councilor has been pressured by the opposition to close the center but, for now, he has rejected that idea, recalling that the agreement between Malaga and Saint Petersburg has "allowed us to enjoy wonderful works of art."
“We must separate what is Russian culture and art from its rulers, also taking into account the manifestations of leaders of Russian culture,
De la Torre is also under pressure to return the Pushkin Medal, with which he was awarded in 2018 by Putin for contributing to cultural ties between Russia and Spain.
De la Torre has not yet decided on this matter.