The Directorate of the Royal Palace of Caserta has ordered the cancellation of the Mariinsky concert conducted by Gergiev, scheduled as part of the Un’Estate da Re festival for July 27 in the courtyard of the Vanvitellian Complex.
The presence of the conductor who is close to Putin had aroused strong controversy and there were fears of possible protest demonstrations organized by Ukrainian associations for Sunday evening.
The latest stances against the concert had been those of several Nobel laureates with letters sent to European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, Italian authorities, and the governor of Campania, Vincenzo De Luca. While 16 thousand signatures were collected by an online petition. The Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, had also intervened, stressing that “art is free and cannot be censored,” but “propaganda, however, even if done with talent, is another thing: in his opinion with Gergiev’s concert the risk would have been to ”pass a wrong message. » Now, after the totally stupid decision to organize such a concert, justice is done.
