The chief conductor of Moscow’s Novaya Opera Theatre has resigned from his post.

Valentin Uryupin wrote in a letter, “As you probably already know, some time ago I was forced to resign for very good personal reasons. To say I’m sorry is to say nothing. I was looking forward to the new season, planned with love by us, I missed the team that received me so warmly and believed me. For me, this is a big and absolutely forced loss.”

Uryupin, who hails from Ukraine has been open about his opposition to the war. On Feb. 27 he wrote, “I would like to post here a post that I wrote on Facebook just hours after the so-called ‘special operation’ began. The photo shows my hometown in Ukraine, last summer. No, under the most difficult circumstances, is it possible to justify aggressive fighting. For me, as for the absolute majority of my friends and colleagues, it is unthinkable to internally support and solidarity with them.”

The conductor took his position with the company during the 2021-22 season.

Uryupin is the latest artist to resign from his position in Russia following Tugan Sokhiev, Olga Smirnova, and Gavriel Heine. Other artists such as Anna Netrebko have been fired from their contracts for speaking out.

 

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