Italian Opera Removes Pro-Putin Russian Performer from Mozart Show
The Italian opera house Arena di Verona has canceled performances by Russian singer Ildar Abdrazakov due to his support for Vladimir Putin's regime and ties to occupied Crimea.
The Gaze reports on it, referring to Reuters.
The Russian bass was supposed to play the lead role in Mozart's opera Don Giovanni in January 2026, but the theater announced that it was refusing to cooperate without explaining the reasons.
The decision was a response to a call from the Anti-Corruption Foundation, founded by the late opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who highlighted Abdrazakov's public support for the Russian authorities.
Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giulli supported the theater's decision, saying that culture should be an instrument of peace, not propaganda for authoritarian regimes. In his opinion, art that serves dictatorship has no place in a free world.
Abdrazakov, who heads the theater in occupied Sevastopol, has become a symbol of the use of culture as part of Kremlin propaganda.
In 2024, the singer received a state award from Putin and was appointed a member of the Russian Presidential Council for Culture and Art.
The Italian decision was seen as a victory over Moscow's attempts to use art to legitimize the war against Ukraine.
It is worth remembering that this is not the first time such measures have been taken against artists who actively support Putin's actions in continuing his unprovoked aggression against Ukraine. Last year, the San Carlo Theater in Naples, Italy, also canceled a performance by Ildar Abdrazakov.
Moreover, according to Politico, three years after being blacklisted for supporting Vladimir Putin and the war against Ukraine, Russian opera stars such as conductor Valery Gergiev and soprano Anna Netrebko are quietly returning to European stages. Despite previous boycotts, Gergiev is scheduled to perform in Barcelona with the Mariinsky Orchestra, while Netrebko’s performance calendar is full across Europe.
Gergiev and Netrebko both have long histories of political loyalty to the Kremlin — Gergiev conducted propaganda concerts and supported the annexation of Crimea, while Netrebko donated money to pro-Russian separatists and publicly backed Putin.
The European Commission has begun investigating whether EU funds were used to support concerts involving sanctioned Russian artists, as Ukraine urges European theaters to remain vigilant and promote performers who share democratic values instead.
As The Gaze reported earlier, the European Commission has urged theaters across Europe to refuse collaboration with Russian performers who publicly support the war against Ukraine.
European Commissioner for Culture Glenn Micallef warned that even privately funded productions must not ignore political responsibility, emphasizing that giving stage space to pro-war artists helps spread Russian propaganda and undermines European values.
Read more on The Gaze: "The Russian House": Chronicles of Europe's Occupation by the "Great" Russian Culture