Peter Gelb is weighing in on Valery Gergiev’s performance in Italy on July 27.

In a recent interview with Die Welt, Gelb condemned the performance, stating that he could not understand why an ally of Ukraine would host Putin’s biggest ally.

He said it “surprises me quite a bit. Especially since Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni strongly supports Ukraine. It would send a fatal signal, because Gergiev is a tool of Putin. There’s no doubt about that. When local officials claim this is a cultural exchange, even indirectly financed with EU funds, even though the alliance is against Russia, I can only repeat: This is cultural propaganda in Putin’s name. And it must be stopped. The EU Parliament seems to take a similar view, as we hear.”

Gelb also called the decision to contract Gergiev “moral corruption, weakness, and possibly naivety” and noted that Gergiev is the de facto Minister of Culture.

The Metropolitan Opera General Director also noted that he had stopped working with Gergiev in 2020, noting that “he was so distracted by his political life that his conducting became increasingly weak” and had become unreliable. However, he did praise him and said, “I consider him an incredible talent, one of the greatest conductors in the world.”

When Gergiev last conducted at the Met in 2020, his performances were met with protests and terrible reviews, with OperaWire noting, “The Russian maestro’s approach lacked in nuance and tended toward extremes of understated to overblown.”

Gergiev is set to perform in Italy on July 27 with the Mariinsky Theatre. The performance has created outrage from many politicians, with many condemning it.

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