Opera singer Mattias Milder has been suspended from the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm following controversial “pro-Russia” comments on social media.
The affair began when Milder commented about Expressen war correspondent Mattias Carlsson’s recent trip to Ukrainian occupied territory in Kursk, Russia.
On Facebook, Milder wrote: “A Swedish journalist who wants to be on the list of those who illegally violated Russian territory. Hope he stays there underground!”
According to Expressen, a daily newspaper, this constituted praise of Russia and a death wish for the war correspondent.
Gunilla Brodrej, a critic and editor at the publication, responded to Milder’s Facebook comments by writing in an editorial: “This is definitely a line crossed regarding what is decent for a representative of a publicly funded national institution.”
“While every large workplace might have employees with unsettling opinions, it’s not illegal to be foolish. But this crosses a line,” Brodrej added.
The Expressen editorial suggested the Royal Swedish Opera should not engage in monitoring the opinions of its employees although Brodrej added: “There needs to be some tightening up on what is appropriate to express on social media.”
The opera company quickly distanced itself from Milder’s opinions.
“The statement was made by the employee in his capacity as a private individual and the Royal Opera strongly distances itself from the views expressed in the statement and reiterates our support for the Ukrainian people and our opposition to Russia’s invasion”, it said in a statement.
As a result, Milder has been suspended from the opera company’s current stage production “while we investigate the consequences”, it said.
It added: “Employees at the Royal Swedish Opera have the right to express private opinions freely. In this case, however, we believe that the statement violates the Royal Opera’s code of conduct.”
Milder had been due to perform in the opera company’s production of Tosca.
Talking to Brussels Signal the Royal Swedish Opera said “Mr Milder will not give any interviews regarding this matter”.
Brussels Signal reached to Milder for comment but as of writing, he had not responded.
