On Feb. 25, the day after the fourth anniversary of the War in Ukraine, Valery Gergiev met with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin to give the Russian dictator a report of the upcoming events at both the Bolshoi Theatre and the Mariinsky Theatre.

The conversation, which was live-streamed, spanned a number of subjects from the Mariinsky Theatre to the Ballet to the Bolshoi Theatre’s plans to celebrate its 250th anniversary. Gergiev also gave the dictator a report about the Bolshoi Theatre’s new production of “”Turandot,” which included “very good, very young singers, a true delight for us.”

Putin also asked about opening the Directorate at the Mariinsky Theatre to which Gergiev spoke about the opening of Carnegie Hall and Tchaikovsky and creating a cultural center in St. Petersburg or Moscow similar to that of “Lincoln Centre and the John F. Kennedy Centre.” Gergiev said, “These two centres, named after US presidents and opened 60 and 70 years ago, have become focal points, attracting the best representatives of the United States and its creative community. I have performed there many times. It seems to me that today we have a unique opportunity to create this type of cultural centres, or cultural quarters, in the heart of Moscow or St Petersburg. I have even brought a map of St Petersburg with me, the city you know well. St Petersburg has numerous cultural hotspots.”

Gergiev next conducts a gala at the Bolshoi Theatre dedicated to Agunda Kulaeva. The concert will include Igor Golovatenko, Ildar Abdrazakov, Hibla Gerzmava, Elchin Azizov,  Alexey Tatarintsev, Ivan Gyngazov, and Oleg Dolgov.

As previously reported, since the war in Ukraine began in 2022, Gergiev has become a political figure in Russia and ousted from western theaters. He has however, performed at the Dubai Opera and China. He has since become the General Manager of the Bolshoi Theatre and was named Chair of the Leo Tolstoy International Peace Prize.

You can watch or read the transcript here:

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