Russian artists across Europe are being asked to speak out against Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine or risk losing their jobs.
On Tuesday, Russian opera diva Anna Netrebko canceled a series of performances, including an evening concert at Hamburg's Elba Philharmonic Hall, saying it was "not the right time to perform and perform music."
Although Netrebko posted on social media over the weekend that she was "against this war," she also expressed discomfort with artists being forced to "publicly express political views and renounce their homeland."
According to the "Politiko" portal, she did not mention Vladimir Putin in her Facebook post. As the Brussels portal reminds, Netrebko supported Putin's election campaign in 2014 and celebrated her 50th birthday last fall with a concert in the Kremlin.
In Munich, the Bavarian State Opera removed Netrebkova's performance from the repertoire citing "insufficient distancing" from Putin.
Meanwhile, in a move that reflects a general shift in Germany's attitude toward Moscow, Russian conductor Valery Gergiev lost his job at the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra on Tuesday after failing to respond to a letter from Mayor Dieter Reiter demanding that Gergiev come out publicly against Putin.
Gergiev, a friend of Putin, who conducted a concert in Palmyra, Syria in 2016 after Russian forces helped capture that city from Islamic State, has had shows canceled in Edinburgh, Paris and Milan because of his refusal to criticize the Kremlin since the start of the war.
"In the case of Gergiev, who is so respected in Russia and has a cultural-political function in Russia and in the West, it is right to demand that he declare himself," said Maksimilian Meyer, radio and television presenter of the Bavarian media BR Klasik.
"At the same time, I would warn against setting ultimatums instead of trying to talk, because art should serve as a bridge and not as a weapon," said Mejer. "We urgently need bridges in the future".
Among the musicians interviewed by Meyer in recent years is the Latvian mezzo-soprano Elina Garanča. She is just one of a number of artists, including Nick Cave, Iggy Pop and Green Day, who have canceled shows in Russia because of the war.
I would caution against issuing ultimatums instead of trying to talk, because art should serve as a bridge, not a weapon."
Explaining her decision, Garanca said that she "cannot support people who support Putin and his regime, even if they are trapped and cannot express themselves openly and honestly".
"Politiko" is reminiscent of a video on YouTube from 2008 that has over 14 million views, in which Garanča and Netrebko perform together in Prague and sing "Ljepa noči, o noči ljubju" from "Hoffmann's Tales" by the composer Jacques Offenbach.
Today, in 2022, Claudia Roth, the German minister of culture from the ranks of the Greens, applauds her friend, the Russian-German pianist Igor Levit, on Instagram not because of his musical talent but because of his clear attitude towards Putin and the war.
"Standing aside while one man, especially a man who is the leader of your homeland, starts a war against another country and thus causes great suffering to your homeland and your people is unacceptable," said Levit's statement. "And never, never use music and being a musician as an excuse. Don't insult art".
The Ukrainian Ministry for Digital Transformation is also of the opinion that art and politics should not be separated, Politiko points out. On Tuesday, the ministry sent a letter to Apple Music and Spotify, asking them to send a message to listeners in Russia: "As you listen to this song, Ukrainian civilians are dying from Russian bombs. We ask Russian citizens to stop this war! To protest against the regime! The ministry also demanded that artists who openly support the Kremlin be completely banned from the platforms, including Russian tenor Nikolai Baskov.
Baskov, who has 4,9 million followers on Instagram, last Sunday hailed Putin's actions as an end to "XNUMX years of unprincipled deception of Russia by the West" adding that "claims about a peaceful NATO are lies".
Whether Baskov will be banned from Spotify and similar platforms remains to be seen. No one from Spotify or Apple Music responded to Politika's requests for comment.
In Hamburg, the Elba Philharmonic Hall has already postponed Netrebkova's concert for September. "The situation will be reassessed when the time comes," said Philharmonic spokesman Martin Andris.
Silencing and canceling artists for any reason remains a touchy subject in Germany, where the sacred rule of freedom of expression often collides with the rights of those who support forces that threaten liberal values.
In the current situation, we all share the responsibility to stand up for our liberal values," said Aniko Merten, culture spokeswoman for the Free Democrats in the German parliament. "However, the decision about how public it should be must always be left to individuals."
Still, Mertenova expressed disbelief at those who support Putin even after the war began.
"In the case of Valery Gergiev, it is known that he was previously in a friendly relationship with Vladimir Putin," she said. "His refusal to distance himself from it doesn't paint him in a good light."
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