Person Open DS/UK/1213 Gergiev; Valery Abisalovich (2 May 1953); Russian conductor and opera company director Gergiev Valery Abisalovich 2 May 1953 Russian conductor and opera company director Male Valery Abisalovich Gergiev https://thirdlight.royalalberthall.com/pf.tlx/titNMJtl1x.Bt Moscow, Russia (born)

Russian Musician; Conductor White Heterosexual Valery Gergiev is a Soviet and Russian conductor and opera company director of Ossetian origin. He is general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre, chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic and artistic director of the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg. In 1978, he became assistant conductor at the Kirov Opera, now the Mariinsky Opera, under Yuri Temirkanov, where he made his debut conducting Sergei Prokofiev's War and Peace. He was chief conductor of the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra from 1981 until 1985 – the year he made his debut in the United Kingdom, along with pianist Evgeny Kissin and violinists Maxim Vengerov and Vadim Repin at the Lichfield Festival. He became chief conductor and artistic director of the Mariinsky in 1988, and overall director of the company, appointed by the Russian government, in 1996. In 1991, Gergiev made his American début, performing War and Peace with the San Francisco Opera. From 1995 to 2008, Gergiev was principal conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valery_Gergiev (2019) International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) 2nd edition - ICA 2004 ISBN 2-9521932-2-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 Yes In 2012, Gergiev sided with the Putin administration against the members of Russian band Pussy Riot and suggested that their motivation was commercial. In New York City in 2013, the LGBT activist group Queer Nation interrupted performances by orchestras conducted by Gergiev at the Metropolitan Opera and Carnegie Hall. The activists cited Gergiev's support for Vladimir Putin, whose government had enacted a law banning the distribution of "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" to minors, as the reason for their actions. In London, the veteran activist, Peter Tatchell, led anti-Gergiev demonstrations. In 2014, he joined Russian artists and cultural figures in signing an open letter of support for Russia's position regarding Ukraine and the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. The letter was posted on the website of Russia's culture ministry. RAHhbryony 8/23/2012 RAHAKirkbride 10/25/2023 4ccad2a0-d1fc-4390-a950-a7a2833d081b