"Evgeny Onegin" against Putin

The new season in the Metro-Opera can be opened by the action in support of sexual minorities in Russia

Can the image of some leading cultural figures of Russia suffer greatly in the United States as a result of the Russian struggle against the propaganda of homosexuality? This may be the result of an unprecedented campaign of the 75-year-old American composer Andrew Rudin. He began collecting signatures under an online pattern with an appeal to the metro-opera, leading the opera Theater of the World, to devote the first presentation of the opera Evgeny Onegin in the new season to the Russian LGBT community. Under the petition, about seven thousand signatures have been collected so far, it aroused the interest of leading American newspapers.

The opening of the season in the Metro-Opera is the main secular event of the year not only in New York, but, possibly, throughout the country. This is a meeting place for people with position, money, fame and great ambitions. On September 23, the season will open with a new production of Evgeny Onegin, which has been preparing for several years. Valery Gergiev will be conducted by the performance, Anna Netrebko will perform in one of the main parties.

For composer Andrew Rudin, this event has gained special symbolism. In its petition on the Change website . Org he writes that the participation of Gergiev and Netrebko, who supported Vladimir Putin and his law on the prohibition of propaganda of homosexuality, offends the memory of an outstanding composer, belonging to a sexual minority and suffering as a result, as well as the progress in the field of equal rights achieved in the United States. Andrew Rudin calls on to devote this idea of the opera of the Tchaikovsky LGBT community . In an interview with Radio, Freedom, he apologized for the inaccuracies contained in his call, and talked about why he decided to hold this unusual action:

- I regret that after I wrote the text of the petition, I did not put it aside for two hours and did not run the text with a fresh eye. I knew that Gergiev and Netrebko were the allies of Putin, but I was wrong, saying that the absence of criticism against the law directed against the LGBT community means that they were for this law. At the same time, Mr. Gergiev keeps silence on this subject, and Madame Netrebko limited herself only in general words that she loves everyone and opens against discrimination. But she, of course, did not mention this specific question.

- How did you come up with the idea of organizing such an unusual protest, figuratively speaking, in the main temple of the United States art?

- What is happening in Russia causes a sense of horror. Being gay, I feel the deepest pride in the changes taking place in our country. But when you see that on the other side of the world, wild repressive measures approve, you do not know whether to laugh or cry. And representatives of the country, which refers to their sexual minorities, come here to present the opera of Tchaikovsky? Literally today, one of the acquaintances attracted my attention to the film created by the state about Tchaikovsky, which states that he was not a homosexual. What will be the next step? Will they burn his diaries, letters, correspondence with his brother?

-And how do you imagine this promotion of support for the LGBT community within the walls of the Metro-Opera?

- I do not think that the performance should be interrupted for this. The readers of The New York Times expressed an interesting simple thought in the comments, offering to hang in the theater rainbow symbols of the LGBT move . At one time, the red ribbon became a worldwide symbol of the fight against AIDS. For the first time, the world saw her at the ceremonies of the theater prize "Tony", then on Oscars. This ribbon on the chest of famous actors and musicians played a giant propaganda role, attracting universal attention to the problem. I do not know what actions the metro-opera decides to take, but, in my opinion, they should do something to defuse the situation.

-What would you answer critics, including the leadership of the Metropolitan Opera, who reproach you in an attempt to use the temple of art, in fact, for political struggle?

- I think about Rostropovich and Vishnevskaya, about their protection Solzhenitsyn, they were not afraid to raise their voice in his support. Yes, and the metro-Opera was not alien to politics in the past. When I grew up, for example, the Afro-American artists were not allowed on her stage. In fact, we are not trying to draw the theater into politics, we only urge him to make a small gesture, we do not demand high -profile statements from him. Unfortunately, it was Anna Netrebko and Valery Gergiev, publicly declaring his support from Vladimir Putin, who politicize art.

This is the opinion of the composer Andrew Rudin, the initiator of the petition with an appeal to the metro-opera to devote to the premiere of the opera Evgeny Onegin to the Russian LGBT community.

So far, a relatively few signatures have been collected under the petition - only about seven thousand. Among the signed, for example, director Bartlet Cher, who staged several performances in the theater, including with the participation of Anna Netrebko. However, this action attracted the attention of the press. The New York Times, for example, quotes the response to the petition of Peter Gelba, managing the theater, where he declares the support of artists with non -traditional sexual orientation, but insists that the theater should not be used for political actions, despite the nobility of the goals of their organizers. Representatives of Valery Gergiev did not respond to the request of the newspaper about the commentary, the press secretary of Anna Netrebko explained that her support for the candidate of the politician during the election does not mean her support for all his decisions.

The New York film director Slava Tsuckerman, well familiar with the American world of art, believes that the author of the petition will hardly be able to get from the famous theater in the political effect of the effect:

- I think that politics should not be brought into the performance from the side. In general, the performance itself is a political phenomenon. It was always so. Let us recall at least Stanislavsky's performances. And this is normal. Normally express your protest by a boycott of the performance. But to attach to it a certain political slogan from the outside, in general, it does not seem correct to me. It would seem right to me if he tried to write an opera about Tchaikovsky and his life, about how he suffered because of his homosexuality, and would try to show it in Russia. It would be a logical move.

- Nevertheless, the feeling that, no matter how this action ends, another blow to the reputation of Vladimir Putin was inflicted, but this time, however, its leading artists suffered with it?

- The law on the fight against the propaganda of homosexuality is clearly not for the benefit of either Putin or Russia. There is no logic in this law, wherever you look. It is amazing how many educated people in Russia supports these laws, completely not understanding why they protest against them in the West. For a Western man, the ban on the propaganda of homosexuality in the absence of a law, say, prohibit the propaganda of murders or propaganda of pedophilia - this is an attack on a certain layer of society, an openly anti -democratic law.

-In your opinion, is it worth Gergiev and non-reckoning to be prepared for someone to refuse to give them a hand during the premiere of Evgeny Onegin?

- I don’t know, I think not, but everything can be. Why, in general, people of art in Russia were in the position of representatives of the presidential candidate, his public? On the other hand, they could not refuse such an honor. They are, in reality, in a terrible position. They deserve sympathy.