Italian opera house excludes pro-Putin Russian singer

ROME (Reuters) -An Italian opera house has cancelled performances by a Russian singer seen as close to President Vladimir Putin, in a move welcomed by the Italian government.

Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov was due to star in Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni" at the Verona Philharmonic Theatre from January 18-25.

The Anti-Corruption Foundation, founded by the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, had called for his exclusion this week because of his public support for Putin.

The Arena di Verona Foundation, which runs the theatre, responded on Thursday announcing Abdrazakov would not be appearing, with a short statement on its website that did not give any reason.

Reuters requested a comment from the artist, but his representative said he was too busy to give an interview.

ITALIAN CULTURE MINISTER SUPPORTS THE EXCLUSION

Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli backed the move, saying that Russian art and culture were welcome "when they serve as a vehicle for dialogue and peace between peoples".

But they were not welcome, he said, "when they become a propaganda tool serving a despotic power that cannot and must not have citizenship rights in the free world".

Pina Picierno, vice president of the European Parliament, posted on X that the cancellation was a victory against "the propaganda of Putin and the Kremlin".

Before Russia's war in Ukraine, Abdrazakov, 49, performed at top concert houses around the world including in London's Covent Garden and at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Last year he received a prestigious state award from Putin and was appointed as a member of the presidential council for culture and arts. He was also named as head of the Sevastopol Opera and Ballet Theatre in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Elsewhere on its website, the Arena di Verona Foundation hailed Abdrazakov "as one of opera's most sought-after basses and one of his generation's most celebrated and recognised artists".

In December 2022, he performed at Milan's La Scala theatre in the Russian opera "Boris Godunov", which was staged amid protests against Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

In July, Russian conductor Valery Gergiev had a concert cancelled in Italy, drawing strong protests from Moscow, after he was similarly criticised for his support of Putin.

(Reporting by Alvise Armellini in Rome, additional reporting by Mark Trevelyan in London; Editing by Ros Russell)