Russian opera singer Anna Netrebko has filed a lawsuit against the Metropolitan Opera and the theater’s CEO Peter Gelb over her canceled performances following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. About it informs Associated Press.
The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court in New York. Netrebko is demanding at least $360,000 in compensation for canceled performances and rehearsals. The singer claims that the actions of the Metropolitan Opera caused her “great mental anguish and emotional distress”, including “depression, humiliation, embarrassment, stress and anxiety.”
The singer’s representatives said that after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Metropolitan Opera and Peter Gelb used Netrebko “as a scapegoat in their campaign to distance themselves from Russia and support Ukraine.” They also noted that the reputation of the singer was thus damaged, which is why other theaters and cultural institutions in the United States stopped cooperating with her. The statement also says that Netrebko had to unprofitably sell an apartment in New York.
Anna Netrebko, before the start of the war, repeatedly publicly supported Vladimir Putin. At the beginning of the invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine, she did not comment on what was happening. As a result, the largest Western venues, including the Metropolitan Opera and the Bavarian Opera, began to refuse to cooperate with her. March 30, 2022 singer published statement condemning the war in Ukraine. After that, her performances began to be canceled in Russia.
In mid-March 2023, a US court ordered the Metropolitan Opera to pay $200,000 to Netrebko for canceling her performances.
2023-08-05 08:39:00
#Anna #Netrebko #sued #Metropolitan #Opera #canceling #performances #refusing #condemn #war #claims #theaters #actions #caused #mental #anguish #Meduza
