Valery Gergiev to Return to the Stage in Italy

Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Valery Gergiev has been banned from Western stages due to his close ties with Vladimir Putin. His failure to publicly oppose Russia’s military intervention led to his blacklisting by all major Western cultural institutions. Since then, he has performed only in Russia, China, and Iran.

In Russia, Gergiev continues to serve as the director of both the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg and the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

His last appearance on a European stage was on February 23, 2022, at La Scala in Milan, just one day before Russia launched its attack on Ukraine. Days later, he was officially blacklisted for his silence on the invasion and his longstanding association with Putin.

Although his return to Europe was originally scheduled for 2026 in Spain, recent news confirms that Gergiev will return sooner—in late July 2025—for a performance in Italy, marking his first appearance in Europe since the ban. He is set to participate in the ninth edition of the “Un’Estate da Re” (A Royal Summer) music festival, held from July 19 to 31 at the Royal Palace of Caserta, north of Naples.

Gergiev will conduct a concert on the evening of Sunday, July 27, in Caserta, located in Italy’s Campania region. He will lead the Orchestra of the Teatro Verdi of Salerno, joined by soloists from the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg.

The program will include:

Giuseppe Verdi: Overture to La forza del destino

Maurice Ravel: Boléro

Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5

This concert will be Gergiev’s only performance in Europe in 2025. He is expected to return to the European stage in early 2026 in Spain, where he will conduct the Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra at the 42nd La Temporada Festival in Barcelona, followed by a tour of five to six performances across the Iberian Peninsula.