Putin’s classical stars rejoice as Kyiv is bombed
NewsWhile Russian forces began a fresh rocket onslaught on Kyiv after midnight on January 1, leading Russian classical stars were seen on Russia-1 television celebrating with Putin’s war-crime defence minister Sergei Shoigu.
Among the classical personalities visible on the video are violist and conductor Yuri Bashmet (1:01 on the video), soprano Hibla Gerzmava (2:20) and bass singer Ildar Abdrazakov, who cancelled his last night of Boris Godunov at La Scala in order to be present.
The nostalgia performers on stage are ancient Soviet composer Alexandra Pakhmutova and crooner Lev Leshchenko.
In a further video clip, an old Soviet song is belted out in Ukrainian.
The “celebration” has the look of a Terry Gilliam-directed double feature with Brazil.
Good one, Amos!
great russian culture in action.
It’s beyond comprehension why these Putin’s cronies are still invited to perform in the West, including opening the season at La Scala (Abdrazakov). They love mother- Russia so much – they should stay there!
Russian names are tricky. Surely this is not the same Abdrazakov invited by Muti (*) to sing Mefistofele in Salzburg last summer.
Or is he?
(*) A (proud? [**]) recipient of Putin’s Order of Friendship.
(**) Once proud, yes, because he listed the honor on his biography and official website for a decade or more. Still proud? We don’t know as there hasn’t been coverage of whether Muti has retroactively refused the honor and sent it back to Putin. For all we know, Muti could still be keeping the honor in Italy!
Until February 2022 I loved much Russian music and literature. Now anything Russian makes me sick, it is purely revolting, I never want to hear Russian music again. I call the radio stations to complain now if I hear Tchaikovsky.
This surprising and involuntary visceral response in me lends some insight into theories of how 20th-century avant garde western classical music after the World Wars and holocaust might have been fed by an anti-German revulsion. I hadn’t appreciated the effect until I experienced my own version of it in 2022 terms.
Any widely-accepted return to grace of the ostracized culture might require enough time that the guilty generations first must all die off, leaving the fresh innocence of later generations to re-humanize the face of their culture.
My feelings exactly.
Hey! Take it easy!!! The casting of Boris Godunow for 7 December 2022 in Milano was done LONG before all hell broke lose on 24 February 2022. I find the opera quite appropriate since it demonstrates what happens to a dictator. Tschaikowsky’s music has nothing to do with the invasion of the Ukraine and Russian is the language not only of Putin but also of PUSCHKIN! I am sickened by what I read, see and hear in the news, but let us place the blame where it belongs: IN THE KREMLIN WITH PUTIN AND HIS HENCHMEN, ABOVE ALL THE WAGNER GANGSTERS!!! Russia extends over NINE time zones of which most of them in the east have no access to any news outlets other than those of the Russian Government. In the larger cities, especially in the western part of Russia, this is not the case and it is primarily from there that thousands of Russians have fled the country causing a brain drain of unprecedented proportions. Just because Anna N. cannot get her stories straight and above all cannot keep her fingers off her computer keyboard where she manages to concoct one disgusting Instagram message after another, this does not mean that ALL Russians are cold and heartless and are in favor of the war! So, please take a deep breath and settle down!
russia invaded ukraine on february 24. Godunov premiered on December 7. La Scala’s management had almost a year to make changes and if it didn’t it was because it didn’t want to. Corrupt, fascist Italy supports – in deeds if not words – corrupt, fascist Russia and that’s all that can be said about it.
russians are themselves responsible for the regime they live in, they are the ones who put it in place – it was the same with tsarism and communism. You can only feel sorry for those nations that were conquered by the Russians and no one asked them if they wanted to live in such regimes.
Now wait just a minute! I know of NO ONE that thought the war launched by the Russian Government on the Ukraine was going to last and that up until now! Therefore, unless the Scala di Milano had a crystal ball, or the equivalent thereof, there was actually no reason to change the cast as 25 February 2022. And as far as corruption goes: I do not know where you live, but I do know that there is NO COUNTRY on earth that is free of corruption! So, try taking stock of the country in which you live before you start pointing at other countries. I also feel sorry for those nations that came under communist rule, the older generations of which – strange as it may seem – have stilll not shaken off that ideology. I also find the new government in Italy suspicious, but it was elected only recently, i.e. not before 24 February 2022. With regard to the music landscape, Giorgia Meloni lost no time in expressing her opinion about the Scala di Milano, i.e. the director as well as the repertoire should be Italien – not Russian!!
Will, I see where you’re coming from, and although I do not agree with you, I can certainly sympathize.
I can’t understand your revulsion of Tchaikovsky, though. His death by suicide came about because he was threatened with the outing of his homosexuality by certain members of the ruling class.
Try to listen to Shostakovich’s string quartets. He hated the Russian rulers of his time as much as you (and I) hate the Russian rulers of ours, and his quartets are a sobering expression of how he felt.
That was refreshingly xenophobic:)
The kleptocracy ruling Russia is engaging in war crimes in Ukraine and murdering citizens at home who attempt to speak out. That said what does that have to do with Russian culture? Is Dostoyevsky, Prokofiev or Emil Gilels responsible for the current situation? I completely agree that the gergiev’s of the current society should be shunned but Tchaikovsky is blameless.
Your sociological hermeneutic leaves much to be desired.
Like to dislike ratio says it all. Also, no one will feel sorry that your highness canceled Russian arts. Maybe it’s better it’ll be enjoyed by one less idiot.
That Abdrazakov, one of the planet’s finest interpreters of Shostakovich’s Michelangelo Suite, could be on Putin’s side boggles my mind as much as it saddens and infuriates me.
Was Ildar Abdrazakov there indeed? He was not in the programme. SD provided seconds in the video to find Hibla Gerzmava, but SD did not provide seconds to find Abdrazakov. SD did not explain where from the reason of Abdrazakov’s cancellation comes.
That people publish and believe unsupported information saddens me…
We have video of him there.
Please refer to my two comments of 4 January 2023 regarding Ildar Abdrazakow. Thank you!
At which moment exactly, Mr. Lebrecht? You provided timings for the others, but not for Ildar Abdrazakov: “Among the classical personalities visible on the video are violist and conductor Yuri Bashmet (1:01 on the video), soprano Hibla Gerzmava (2:20) and bass singer Ildar Abdrazakov, who cancelled…”
Or was it in another video?
Then maybe you could post it, with the timing or with the link? Right click on the video, then “copy video URL at current time”. Then the video will play from that moment.
Please also notice below the result of web search by Potpourri (thanks to Potpourri for it!). It says that the event was recorded much earlier than December 29.
So why don’t you show it to us?
Because I can’t convert the format.
You must be kidding! You must know SOMEONE capable of converting the format!!! If not, why did you mention Abdrazakow at all? If you refer to my comments of 4 January, the second of which proves that Abdrazakow was NOT in Milano and did NOT sing the last performance of Boris Godunow!
I asked a friend, who studied Russian, to find if there is a list of the names of the singers in the web. My friend said that there was Oskar Abdrazakov, not Ildar Abdrazakov.
Mr. Lebreht, could you please provide a proof that Ildar Abdrazakov was singing there? And also a proof that Ildar Abdrazakov cancelled La Scala in order to sing in this event?
Thank you in advance.
Shameless putin puppets. Lisitsa was in that company too according to photos in media.
Look who else contributed mightily to the very same insane televised New Year festivities on the “Titanic” aka modern-day Russia – “the only student of Montserrat Caballe” (or so he claims)!
Here he is (singing awfully in both cases): then –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EB_tksBdkg
and now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoSIMbTTKH8
Lol. Tchaikovsky was Ukrainian actually. How unfortunate for you to have spewed all that nonsense.
==Tchaikovsky was Ukrainian actually ==
Are you sure about this ?
Yes – he was born there.
Then why Ukrainians asked to cancel “The Nutcracker”?
Information about the request to cancel was published on SD in December, I believe.
Well exactly -good question! Russia has taken credit for Tchaikovsky, which is fair given he spent most of his life there. But his paternal family were fully Ukrainian, something that many tend to forget these days.
Open Google Maps, type “Votkinsk” and see for yourself where he was born (it’s in the Ural Mountains of Russia)
Very disappointed that Ildar Abdrazakov would not only participate but also cancel a contracted performance at La Scala to do so after Dominique Meyer and Richard Chailly supported and promoted him.
Are you sure Ildar Abdrazakov participated? Could you please explain why? I did not find him.
Please clarify that it was Askar Abdrazakov, older brother of Ildar Abdrazakov, who performed at a gala concert that was televised on Russia 1 on New Year’s. It was recorded on December 13, 2022, at Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, Moscow Region. Thank you, Un Historien, for the clues. A little research on Google provided the answer.
Re Ildar Abdrazakov: Originally he was scheduled to sing all performances of Boris Godunow, including the last one on 29 December 2022. However, according to the Website of the Teatro alla Scala di Milano he was replaced, with no further explanation, by Adam Palka on 29 December 2022. Ergo … Ildar Abdrazakov did not sing in Milano on 29 December 2022. This, however, does not reveal where he was on 29 December 2022 nor what he was doing on that day/evening. I guess we will just have to figure this one out for ourselves … unless NL or someone else has more concrete information to share with us …
Further to my comment concerning Ildar Abdrazakow’s cancellation of the Boris on 29 December 2022, I just found a review of the performance and – sure enough – Adam Palka replaced Abdrazakow on that evening. At least now we have an eye- and ear-witness to that fact!
On January 29, Ildar was in Moscow, starring in the New Year’s gymnastics gala at Irina Viner-Usmanova’s Gymnastics Palace.
Well, not January but December, of course. Here’s the link https://www.instagram.com/p/CmEmo60DqjO/
In December there are viruses everywhere, OperaWire publishes cast change info nearly every day. Including Kaufmann’s and Netrebko’s cancellations. Did they all cancel in order to travel to Moscow to participate in this awful-pop-culture-event?
Or maybe somebody decided that a Polish singer in a Russian opera would make presenting a Russian opera to look better, like more international or less offensive…
A propos Abdrazakovs brothers – maybe Ildar was there as well as his brother, maybe he wasn’t – it’s not that important. He belongs to the coterie of artists closest to the Kremlin – along with Matsuev, Hibla Gerzmava, Netrebko/Eyvazov couple and a few others. He never made a secret of it, just take a look at social media – his and the others mentioned.
Why Western European opera theaters hire him, Netrebko or Eyvazov, paying them with taxpayers’ money (they are all subsidized by the state) is totally incomprehensible to me.
And where were you when the Americans were bombing and maiming hundreds of thousands of people in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere? Did not Americans such as Leonard Bernstein continue to conduct and perform? One rule for them. One rule for us.
I don’t know if he was therebut on dec. 27th he sang Mustafa (Italiana in Algeri) in St.Petersburg under the baton of Valery Gergiev.
Norman, please check information before posting. This TV-show was recorded a month ago. Ildar Abdrazakov canceled La Scala by any other reason.
If this concert gets under your skin, the “Stradivarius Ensemble” of the Maryinsky Theatre under Lorenz Nasturica-Herschcowici (concertmaster as-was of the Munich Phil) beating the Vienna Philharmonic at its own New Year’s Concert game will *REALLY* make you blow a gasket: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z_6494NfTY