Risk of Propaganda with Gergiev Concert, Says Culture Minister

Caserta: Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli on Tuesday criticised the decision by local officials to invite Russian orchestra conductor and Vladimir Putin friend and supporter Valery Gergiev to perform at an upcoming event at the Reggia di Caserta former Bourbon royal palace this month. “Art is free and cannot be censored. Propaganda, however, even if done with talent, is something else,” Giuli said.

According to Ansa News Agency, Giuli expressed concerns that the concert by Putin’s friend and adviser Valery Gergiev, which the Campania Regional Government wanted, organized, and paid for, at the Reggia di Caserta, risks giving the wrong message. The palace, located to the north of Naples, is independent in its choice of events to host like all autonomous institutes of the ministry of culture. The performance is set to effectively end the ban from European stages imposed on Gergiev following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The 72-year-old conductor has never expressed opposition to the war. He is set to perform at a concert on July 27 as part of the Un’Estate da Re festival at the palace, one of the high points of the Campanian cultural summer.