Italian Caserta refused to give the reason for the cancellation of Gergiev's concert.

The press service of the Royal Palace in Caserta, Italy, did not provide Izvestia with an explanation for the cancellation of the concert by Russian conductor and director general of the Bolshoi Theater Valery Gergiev. The official letter dated July 21 did not specify the reasons.

"The management of the Royal Palace in Caserta has decided to cancel the symphony concert conducted by Valery Gergiev, scheduled as part of the Royal Summer festival (Un' Estate da Re) on July 27 in the courtyard of the Vanvitellian complex," the press service said.

According to the Italian publication Il Fatto Quotidiano, Ukrainian activists specifically bought tickets to the front rows of the concert to express their disagreement with its holding.

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The management of the Royal Palace of Caserta canceled Gergiev's symphony concert earlier in the day. According to the ANSA news agency, the conductor is criticized for publicly supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In turn, Kirill Krok, director of the Vakhtangov Theater, called the cancellation of Gergiev's performance madness, stressing that art should be beyond political themes.

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