Urgent call to expel Russia from music organisations

Heads of Ukrainian organizations have demanded that Russia be expelled immediately from Opera Europa.

The same should surely apply to the world federation of international music competitions, the international arts managers association and other roof organizations that still recognize the criminal state. Just do it now.

Here’s the Opera Europa letter:

Open Letter to the Members of Opera Europa Network

Dear colleagues,
We deeply appreciate your solidarity and all the support you are willing to show to Ukraine today. We also understand your desire to embed the longer term perspective into your response and actions.
However, we feel we must bring to your attention several aspects of the situation, which may be less visible from a distance. First of all, many Ukrainian artists, indeed most Ukrainian citizens today, are in a position when their welfare and even life are being threatened daily. Our museums, theatres, philarmonies and concert halls are being shelled and bombed daily – specifically, Kharkiv National Opera, a member of Opera Europa, has been already damaged by the Russian artillery fire. It is very hard for us to understand why all of this is of less concern now than necessity to keep the doors open to the cooperation with Russian theaters in the longer term.

Secondly, we are not pushing for some paper sanctions – we simply want Russian cultural institutions and their leaders to speak about their position clearly and openly. They are highly visible actors in their own country, who used to have sufficient moral authority to influence position of their audiences on a broad spectrum of questions.
We strongly believe they must either
1) send a clear and unequivocal signal publicly that they condemn the actions of
their government or
2) choose the path of shame and isolation, by keeping silent and observing their
Opera Europa membersip being revoked.
This may be a challenging choice for them, and it may be an uneasy step for Opera Europa to make them face this choice – but it is the only moral thing to do now. And make no mistake – neither of us is pushing anyone into the maw of Putin, but together we have a chance to pull at least some of the Russians from his poisonous embrace.
We know we have support of several non-Ukrainian members of Opera Europa on this issue, but we hope this position will be adopted by Opera Europa as an organisation. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, ‘In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends’. This short phrase perfectly captures our pathos. We hope for your understanding and would welcome bolder actions by Opera
Europa. This war is not about Ukrainian national interests or politics, it is about common European values and human dignity.
Truly Yours,
Galyna Grygorenko

Head of the State Agency of Arts and Artistic Education, co-founder of Open Opera
Ukraine, independent opera company
Bogdan Strutynsky
General Manager-Artistic Director of the National operetta theatre of Ukraine, Kyiv
Petro Chupryna
General Manager-Artistic Director of Taras Shevchenko National opera and ballet
theatre of Ukraine, Kyiv
Vasyl Vovkun
General Manager-Artistic Director of Solomiia Krushelnytska National opera and
ballet theatre of Ukraine, Lviv
Nadiia Babich
General Manager-Artistic Director of Odesa National opera and ballet theatre of
Ukraine, Odesa
Oleg Orishchenko
General Manager-Artistic Director of Mykola Lysenko National opera and ballet
theatre of Ukraine, Kharkiv
Ivan Kosyachenko
General Director of the National Odesa Philarmonic Orchestra
Anna Gadetska
Co-founder and Program Director of Open Opera Ukraine
Nataliia Khmilevska
Co-founder and Artistic Director of Open Opera Ukraine
Ott Maaten
Director General, Estonian National Opera
Jonas Sakalauskas
General Manager, Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre
Renata Borowska-Juszczyńska
Dyrektor/General Manager Teatr Wielki im. Stanisława Moniuszki w Poznaniu
Jan Burian
General Director, Národní divadlo / The National Theatre Prague
Catarina Molder
General Director Opera do Castelo & Operafest Lisboa