Piotr Tchaikovsky
American composer Andrew Rudin (*1939) is quite successful with his appeal to New York’s Met to call its 2013/14 opening gala a protest against Putin’s anti-gay laws. Almost 1300 people signed his petition (click here for more information). Rudin says: « Peter Illyich Tchaikowsky is the beloved composer most widely known to have been homosexual and to have suffered for it in his lifetime. For America’s leading opera house to open its season with one of his works, performed by a conductor (Gergiev) and a leading soprano (Netrebko) who support Putin’s recent laws against homosexual people and those who support them dishonors the work of a great artist and his legacy as well as the progress made in our own country to secure equality for all citizens. » However, even with more signatures, one hardly can believe that the Met will pay attention to this petition. May be, Russia needs another petition, asking Putin to forbid every single Tchaikovsky performance in Russia since playing the composer’s music could be considered as an act of promotion for non traditional relations as stipulated in the new law.
