Overview
- Fondazione Arena announced that Ildar Abdrazakov will not perform in Don Giovanni at the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona from January 18 to 25, 2026.
- The Anti-Corruption Foundation, founded by Alexey Navalny, and the civic group Liberi Oltre le Illusioni urged the cancellation, calling Abdrazakov a public supporter of Vladimir Putin.
- Campaigners pointed to reports that Abdrazakov backed Putin’s 2024 campaign and now directs the opera and ballet theatre in Sevastopol in occupied Crimea.
- Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli publicly approved the decision, arguing that cultural platforms should not serve the propaganda of a despotic power.
- The Navalny organization hailed the outcome on X as a victory, while the case follows earlier cancellations involving Abdrazakov in Naples and a broader European reassessment of artists tied to the Russian state, including Valery Gergiev.