Durban - Guest pianist Valentina Lisitsa earned much applause and standing ovations at this week’s concert marking the opening of the World Symphony Series Spring Season at the Playhouse.
The name of the controversial pro-Putin artist was conspicuously omitted in a welcoming speech by KZN Philharmonic Orchestra CEO Bongani Tembe. Last year, she played in the ruins of Mariupol on Russia’s Victory Day, two months after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine.
After interval and once Lisitsa had performed, Tembe said to applause: “What a first half!”
Tembe has not responded to requests for comment since the end of last month, when the Independent on Saturday first reported on the controversial artist’s invitation to the concert. The event also marked the 40th anniversary of the orchestra.
“We have more than 20 nationalities here. From Ukraine, Russia, Israel. All around the world. Italy.”
Tembe referenced one principal, Yura, from Ukraine, who had become a permanent member of the orchestra. Double bass player Yura Litvenenko fits that description.
In his address, he also briefly mentioned Lisitsa’s co-guest artist maestro Justus Frantz, also on record as being a Putin supporter.
Tembe called for a moment’s silence to respect “all the people going through struggles around the world, be it through hunger or violence”.
Outside, as patrons entered, three Ukrainian women and a South African sympathiser held placards and handed out pamphlets.
One side of the pamphlet had a write-up under the heading “600 Days of War” that began: “Russia has been using military aggression against the sovereign country of Ukraine, threatening the world with a nuclear attack, and increasing hunger and poverty on the African continent.
“During the last 600 days … Russia has already destroyed thousands of schools, hospitals, power stations, apartment blocks and houses. 19 358 Ukrainian children have been forcefully deported to Russia, many of them forcefully separated from their parents and caregivers.”
On the other side it asked: “What is wrong with Valentina Lisitsa’s performance in SA?”
The pamphlet said that since 2014 she had openly supported the Russian military and displayed animosity towards the Ukrainian identity.
“We strongly denounce Valentina Lisitsa’s statements that fuel violence and propagate hatred against Ukrainian identity.”
Venues in Canada and Italy have shunned her because of her stand.
This month the Lisitsa issue caused “considerable concern” for the orchestra, according to board member Devi Rajab.
She said the board had been discussing “how to work out a policy that will make it possible for us to deal with such matters” rather than making ad hoc decisions.
The Ukrainian Association of SA’s Durban representative, Katya Fedkina, said her group of protesters had objected to police, who outnumbered them, asking them to move from the theatre entrance to the opposite side of the street.
“They said ‘we don’t want to do anything to you. We don’t want to fight, so move to the other side of the road’. We said ‘this is a public place’ and they said, ‘no, it belongs to the theatre’. They tried to intimidate us.“
The protesters agreed to move off the pavement to the parking place.
Inside, a patron said he had booked early to get a good seat and was surprised at the number of empty seats in front of him. Some regular theatre goers had boycotted the event and there appeared to be more than 50 empty seats.
One who attended remarked: “I had been warned not to attend because of her pro-Putin stance but I came to see excellence.”
Accompanying the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra was the Johannesburg Philharmonic. Both Lisitsa and Frantz are scheduled to perform with them at Johannesburg’s Linder Auditorium on Thursday.
The Independent on Saturday