Pro-Russian artists no longer have the right to play in Europe.
In Russia, artists opposed to the war suffer the same fate: the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow has just withdrawn from its line-up shows scheduled for May.
If the reasons for this change are not officially known, they are in fact obvious: the directors of these shows have both left Russia having publicly expressed their opposition to the offensive that their country is leading in Ukraine.
To read also "A Lépine contest of the most idiotic Russophobia": do sporting and cultural sanctions really go too far?
In a message posted on Telegram on Monday evening, the theater announced that the ballet "Nureyev" and the opera "Don Pasquale", directed by Kirill Serebrennikov and Timofei Kulyabin respectively, would be replaced by other shows for the six performances. scheduled for May holidays.
Contacted, the Bolshoi did not comment immediately.
Timoféï Kouliabine, an innovative young director, had published several messages critical of the conflict on social networks.
Respected director and filmmaker Kirill Serebrennikov also harshly criticized the Russian offensive in Ukraine and left his country in March for a matter of "conscience".
He is now based in Berlin.
He is not surprised by the Bolshoi's decision.
“This ballet deals with man's aspiration to freedom,” he confides.
The freedom to create and the freedom to live”.
"Return to the Soviet era"
“Nowadays Nureyev is inappropriate and impossible on the Bolshoi stage.
They are afraid of unnecessary associations and uncomfortable performers,” he said, seeing the cancellation of performances as a throwback to the Soviet era.
“Cancellation of Russian culture in Europe, you say?
In Russia, they cancel the culture themselves.”
Known for his daring creations, his support for LGBT + people, the artist was sentenced in 2020 for embezzlement to a three-year suspended prison sentence, with a ban on leaving Russia.
He was finally able to leave legally, after a remission in this case deemed politicized by his supporters.
His ballet on Rudolf Nureyev, a prodigious dancer who had fled the USSR for Europe, has triumphed at the Bolshoi since the end of 2017. And this, despite references to the sexual orientation of the hero in a context of increased conservatism by the authorities.
Replaced by "Spartacus", in support of the Russian military operation
The ballet was replaced by "Spartacus", a very martial piece.
In early April, the theater presented this historic ballet in support of the Russian military operation in Ukraine.
Proceeds from the show go to the families of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine.
Read alsoIn the midst of the Cold War, the Soviet Rudolf Nureyev goes to the West and seeks asylum in France
In the wake of the start of the offensive, on February 24, several great Bolshoi dancers left the institution, including prima ballerina Olga Smirnova.
The Metropolitan Opera in New York has put an end to co-productions and the Bolshoi Ballet's long-awaited annual foreign tour.