A famous conductor is set to perform at a major festival in Italy, drawing criticism from the Italian government and the Russian opposition over his support for Vladimir Putin.

Valery Gergiev, who backed the annexation of Crimea in 2014, was shunned by the West following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. But, POLITICO reported in June, he was planning a European comeback with a handful of shows scheduled for next year in Spain.

Now Gergiev is slated to perform at the major Un’Estate da Re festival near Naples on July 27 — his first concert in the European Union since the 2022 invasion.

“Art is free and cannot be censored. Propaganda, however, even if done with talent, is something else,” Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli said in a statement.

Gergiev’s concert in Italy “risks sending the wrong message,” Giuli said, and could turn the festival “into a sounding board for Russian propaganda.” Still, the minister clarified that the festival organizers are free to invite whomever they choose. 

Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, also condemned Gergiev’s appearance in Italy amid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, calling the conductor “a promoter of Putin’s criminal policy, his accomplice and supporter.”

Vincenzo De Luca, president of the Campania region where the festival will be held, responded to Navalnaya that he would not accept “logics of exclusion or interruption of dialogue, as this does not help peace.” 

Gergiev did not immediately comment on the accusations. 

Elena Giordano contributed to this report.