Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, who has been barred from European concert halls since the invasion of Ukraine, has been invited to participate in a concert in Italy.

Gergiev, considered a close ally of Vladimir Putin for many years, is the director of the famed Bolshoi and Mariinsky Russian state theatres.

His invitation to perform in Italy this month has been described as signalling the artist’s rehabilitation.

Vincenzo de Luca, who runs the Campania region, insists that the concert at the Un’Estate da REfestival later this month will go ahead despite a growing swell of criticism.

The BBC quoted De Luca as saying: “Culture… must not be influenced by politics and political logic. We do not ask these men to answer for the choices made by politicians.”

[Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rotterdamsphilharmonischorkest/6127317774]


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