Lithuania’s National Opera and Ballet Theater in Vilnius during intermission of the ballet “Les Millions d’Arlequin,” which replaced “The Nutcracker” this month. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko for The New York Times.
In Sunday’s (12/22) New York Times, Andrew Higgins and Jenny Gross write, “Lithuania, an unwavering supporter of Ukraine in the war waged by Russia, set aside Tchaikovsky and [“The Nutcracker”] two years ago after declaring a ‘mental quarantine’ from Russian culture in a gesture of solidarity against the aggressor. That stirred grumbling by theatergoers, but their annoyance had largely calmed—until a new government took power in Lithuania this month and a newly installed culture minister announced that he liked listening to Tchaikovsky. There was no reason, the minister, Sarunas Birutis, said in a radio interview, to be ‘afraid that after watching a Christmas fairy tale we will become pro-Kremlin.’ His remarks prompted fury from ardent supporters of Ukraine and applause from lovers of Russian music, igniting a bitter debate, largely one between generations, about whether culture and politics can be separated at a time of war. Many in the art world oppose banning works on the basis of their nationality, believing that culture has the power to unite and should not be contaminated by politics…. For lovers of ‘The Nutcracker,’ a staple of the Christmas repertoire in Lithuania for generations, Tchaikovsky … has nothing to do with the Kremlin or Russian atrocities in Ukraine and should be spared from what they see as virtue signaling by politicians.”
