La Scala asks Valery Gergiev to denounce the invasion of Ukraine or leave

Last night, a new production of The Queen of Spades, conducted by Valery Gergiev, opened at La Scala. Gergiev – sometimes called ‘the Tsar’ because of his friendship with Vladimir Putin – was applauded as he entered the orchestra pit, but some boos were heard and someone called out that he should leave.

Today, Beppe Sala, the mayor of Milan and director of the board at La Scala, said:

We have at La Scala The Queen of Spades conducted by Valery Gergiev who has many times declared his closeness to Putin, so with the director of the theatre we are asking him to make his position clear against this invasion and if he does not do so we will be forced to renounce our collaboration with him.

Dominique Meyer, the intendant of the theatre, sent a message to Gergiev asking him to make a statement in which he hopes for a peaceful resolution. Now the theatre awaits his answer.

Gramilano Editor

Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Italian ballerina Carla Fracci.

Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.

He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.