It is as a free man that Kirill Serebrennikov will participate in the Cannes and Avignon festivals, where he will present respectively Tchaikovsky’s Wifein competition, and The Black Monkaccording to Chekhov, in the Cour d’honneur of the Palais des Papes, at the opening of the 76and editing. Added to this unprecedented coincidence are the no less exceptional circumstances of his visit to France: on March 28, the 52-year-old artist learned that he could leave Russia, following long years of trials and of house arrest. The justice of his country reproached him for having embezzled public subsidies while he directed the Gogol Center, a laboratory of contemporary creation where Moscow youth thronged. In 2017, his arrest sparked a wave of international support. It was at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin, a city dear to him, that Kirill Serebrennikov met The worlddressed in a military jacket, accented with bright orange. “See no signhe said. Sometimes a cucumber is just a cucumber; a banana is just a banana. »
Were you able to leave Moscow legally?
Yes. I’m officially free. The court closed the case. I was given permission to go abroad for professional reasons. I can leave Russia and come back as I see fit. From the beginning, I always wanted to respect the law. I did everything that was asked of me.
Is it important for you to know that you will be able to return?
Yes. My father is in Rostov-on-Don. He is almost 90 years old. We talk to each other every day. He tries to be brave. For my part, I no longer have any sources of income in Russia: I work mainly outside. In June, I have to put on an opera in Amsterdam, the Freischütz. In July, I will stage The Black Monk in Avignon, then I will finish filming Limonov, based on the novel by Emmanuel Carrère. Later, I will return to the Thalia, in Hamburg, where I created The Black Monk. I should also prepare Lohengrin, by Wagner, at the Opéra Bastille, in Paris…
“Being in Russia now makes me feel like I’m taking part in the war, and I don’t want to be part of this war!” »
Many artists have chosen to leave Russia permanently. Why not you ?
Never say never “. Who knows what the future holds for us? Being in Russia now makes me feel like I’m taking part in the war, and I don’t want to be part of this war! But my situation is privileged: I have work, an apartment here in Berlin, which I bought in 2011. At the time, it was cheaper than in Moscow. Many of my friends leave when they have nothing. Their choice is both political and human. In Russia, it is absolutely impossible to display one’s opposition to the war.
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