Opera house praised for canceling singer with links to Putin

He received a prestigious state award from Putin last year

An Italian opera house has cancelled performances by Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov, seen as close to President Vladimir Putin. Italy's government welcomed the move.

Abdrazakov was scheduled for Mozart's "Don Giovanni" at the Verona Philharmonic Theatre (Jan 18-25). His exclusion followed calls from Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation over Putin support.

The Arena di Verona Foundation, theatre operator, announced Abdrazakov's withdrawal Thursday, offering no reason. Reuters sought comment, but his representative said he was too busy.

Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli backed the cancellation, saying Russian art is welcome "when they serve as a vehicle for dialogue and peace between peoples".

But they were not welcome, he said, "when they become a propaganda tool serving a despotic power that cannot and must not have citizenship rights in the free world".

Pina Picierno, vice president of the European Parliament, posted on X that the cancellation was a victory against "the propaganda of Putin and the Kremlin".

Ildar Abdrazakov (second centre) was due to star in Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni" at the Verona Philharmonic Theatre (Associated Press)

Before Russia's war in Ukraine, Abdrazakov, 49, performed at top concert houses around the world including in London's Covent Garden and at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Last year he received a prestigious state award from Putin and was appointed as a member of the presidential council for culture and arts. He was also named as head of the Sevastopol Opera and Ballet Theatre in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Elsewhere on its website, the Arena di Verona Foundation hailed Abdrazakov "as one of opera's most sought-after basses and one of his generation's most celebrated and recognised artists".

In December 2022, he performed at Milan's La Scala theatre in the Russian opera "Boris Godunov", which was staged amid protests against Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

In July, Russian conductor Valery Gergiev had a concert cancelled in Italy, drawing strong protests from Moscow, after he was similarly criticised for his support of Putin.