Is there a cultural “iron curtain” coming in Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine? – showbiz

Even during the Cold War, Russian artists often performed in the West, but with the invasion of Ukraine, Europe seems unwilling to see companies like Bolshoi or the Morozov Group of Modern Art in Paris again.

A little more than a week after the Russian invasion saw Russian artists and companies cancel their shows in the West, raising fears of cultural isolation.

“Even in the most difficult moments of the Cold War, cultural exchanges continued between Russian, American and European artists,” Peter Gelb, director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, told France. “There were always tensions, but it was possible.” Click.

“no chance”

“What is happening now is different, it is beyond the Cold War, it is a real war,” says Gelb, who visited Moscow a few days before the Russian offensive to discuss co-production with the Bolshoi.

Peter Gelb, 69, knows what he’s talking about. In the 80s, this American worked as an agent for the legendary Ukrainian pianist Vladimir Horowitz, for whom he organized his triumphant return to Russia. He also recorded a comeback concerto for cellist Mstislav Rostropovich.

The tours of Soviet artists in the West began in the 1950s, particularly the tours of ballet troupes, a method with strong Russian influence, which the Soviets turned into a propaganda weapon.

Some of these excursions, during which the artists were under strict surveillance, firmly entered history. For example, the Bolshoi residency in London in 1956, with the legendary Galina Ulanova, or the Kirov Ballet Tour (renamed Mariinsky) in Paris in 1961, where Rudolf Nureyev seized the opportunity to escape and stay in France.

But the Americans were not far behind either: The American Ballet Theater premiered in Moscow in 1960 and two years later, in the midst of the Cuban Missile Crisis, came the New York City Ballet, which completed its recital. Tour despite the tensions.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, cultural exchanges became stronger, and Russian “star” dancers moved to other companies (such as Svetlana Zagarov, “Tsarina” Dance, Star Bolshoi and Scala in Milan).

But for Gelb, “in the current context of brutality against innocent citizens, there is no possibility of exchanges like those of the Cold War.” The enterprise he runs has ceased to cooperate with the Bolshoi.

The Metropolitan, the Paris Opera and other European cultural institutions have all decided not to hire pro-Putin artists.

In London, Bolshoi’s performance was also cancelled.

The former director of Bolshoi before looking for his luck abroad, Russian choreographer Alexei Ratmansky left two new productions with this company and with the Mariinsky ballet troupe. Frenchman Laurent Hilaire, who directed the Stanislavsky Ballet in Moscow, resigned after five years in the position.

The criticism focused mainly on two superstars close to the Russian government: conductor Valery Georgiev, who was declared persona non grata in many theaters and abandoned by his agent; and soprano Anna Netrebko, the queen of lyric art who had to cancel several engagements.

But not all artists are in the same boat. Some, such as conductor Vasily Petrenko, who lives in the UK, have announced that they will suspend their activities in Russia.

A situation that changes when talking about supported institutions.

“We can’t separate the Bolshoi and Mariinsky from the authorities,” says Pyle. “They receive public funding, and in the eyes of the world, talking about the Bolshoi is about the Russian state.”