Italian theater ‘cancels’ Russian artists
A major Italian theater has called off a performance by two acclaimed Russian classical artists, citing “ongoing international tensions.”
The Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino announced on Thursday that the ballet “Pas de deux for toes and fingers,” scheduled for January 20 and 21, has been “temporarily suspended.” The program is the signature project of married artists ballerina Svetlana Zakharova and violinist Vadim Repin, both world-renowned soloists.
“Ongoing international tensions” have created “a climate that could jeopardize the successful staging,” reads the statement on the theater’s website. The venue has not provided new dates, offering refunds instead.
While the theater did not explicitly state the reason for the move, the Russian Embassy in Italy has accused it of bowing to political pressure from Ukraine. In a sharply worded comment published on Telegram on Friday, the Embassy stated that “the suspension” effectively meant a cancellation, which was made “in response to an appeal from the Embassy of Ukraine in Rome.”
The diplomatic mission argued that the “criminal terrorist regime of [Ukraine’s Vladimir] Zelensky” was limiting Italy’s cultural sovereignty and also suggested EU funding pressure played a role. It sarcastically “congratulated” Florence on a further descent into the “murky waters of Russophobia.”
It fits an ongoing pattern of high-profile Russian artists, especially those who have publicly supported government policy, having events called off since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. Last July, the Italian Ministry of Culture withdrew an invitation to renowned Russian conductor Valery Gergiev to a festival in Naples.
Moscow has consistently condemned such cancellations as politically motivated censorship, arguing that they destroy cultural bridges and restrict European citizens’ access to world heritage.
In recent years, Kiev has pursued a campaign within Ukraine to dissociate from Russian cultural figures, recently removing composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s name from its National Music Academy and dismantling monuments to Russian writers.
