Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov’s appearances in Verona are cancelled

Ildar Abdrazakov will not take part in Don Giovanni at the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona in January 2026 as planned.

The Russian bass, a declared supporter of Vladimir Putin, has already had many contracts cancelled in theatres around the world, including Teatro San Carlo in Naples where he was due to sing in Don Carlo in January of this year.

The Arena di Verona Foundation – which runs both the theatre and the arena and is headed by Cecilia Gasdia – announced its decision following protests by associations such as the Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF) founded by Alexei Navalny in 2011 and now led by his widow Yulia Navalnaya.

They have been asking the Arena “to act responsibly and ban Abdrazakov from the stage, in compliance with the constitutional values of justice and democracy and to guarantee that Italy does not become a refuge for Kremlin propaganda”. Employing Abdrazakov meant “normalising Putin’s regime and its crimes. It is not a question of censoring the opinions of an artist nor of censoring an entire nation, such as Russia – many Russian artists, not close to the Kremlin, have active collaborations in Europe. It is about civic responsibility and opposition to Abdrazakov’s actions.”

The Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, who pushed for the cancellation said, “I approve of the choice of the Teatro Filarmonico – the arts and more generally Russian culture, like others, are always welcome in Italy when they represent a vehicle for dialogue and conciliation between peoples. Not so, however, when they become the propaganda tool at the service of a despotic power that cannot and must not have the right to citizenship in the free world.”

Last summer, the Campania Region also cancelled a planned concert by Valery Gergiev at the Royal Palace of Caserta, near Naples.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Abdrazakov has not sang at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and, after inaugurating La Scala‘s season on 7 December 2022 with Boris Godunov, he was removed from Les Contes d’Hoffmann scheduled at La Scala the following year and the former regular in Milan has not been back since.

Abdrazakov has been appearing mainly in Russia, where Kremlin-affiliated companies fund his “Festival of Talents”. He publicly supported Putin’s presidential campaign in 2024 and later that year he was appointed director of the Sevastopol Opera House in occupied Crimea – a position that had been held by Ukrainian ballet dancer Sergei Polunin since 2019. Polunin, who famously has three tattoos of Putin on his chest and shoulders (as well as a Ukrainian trident on his right hand) previously helped organise donation drives for Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine and was a supporter of Putin during the 2024 election. Last month Ukraine revoked his citizenship.

There were similar calls to cancel the appearances of Anna Netrebko when she sang Tosca at The Royal Opera House in London two months ago. Netrebko has said nothing in support of Putin since the invasion, and The Navalny Foundation said, “We don’t want to punish people for silence.”

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 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.