Soprano Anna Netrebko will not sing on the stage of the New York Opera “Metropolitan”, as she refused to publicly withdraw her support for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the theater lost one of its best performers, bringing significant revenue, the Associated Press reported. BTA.
“This is a huge artistic loss for the Metropolitan and the opera,” director Peter Gelb said in a statement.
“Anna is one of the greatest singers in the history of the Metropolitan, but with Putin, the killing of innocent people in Ukraine, there is no way forward.”
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The Barcelona Opera has canceled Anna Netrebko’s participation in the concert for its 175th anniversary
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Last Sunday, Gelb said the opera would not work with artists who support Putin.
“Metropolitan has made efforts in recent days to persuade Netrebko to condemn Putin’s actions, but failed,” said a source familiar with the matter, who wished to remain anonymous.
The decision of the New York Theater followed the collapse of the international career of Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, who is close to Putin as director of the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg.
The invasion of Ukraine has led to solidarity in the world of art and culture with Ukrainian artists, as well as reactions against the Russian government and its allies that do not reject Putin’s actions. A similar effect is observed in international sports.
The 50-year-old Netrebko, a native of Krasnodar, was awarded the honorary title of People’s Artist of Russia by Putin in 2008.
In 2014, she made a donation of 1 million rubles (then $ 18,500) to the Donetsk Opera, a Ukrainian city controlled by pro-Russian separatists, and posed for the flag.
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Accused of friendship with Putin: Russian soprano Anna Netrebko stops her concerts
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On Tuesday, Netrebko announced that he was temporarily withdrawing from the stage. She was supposed to sing on April 3rd at the Barcelona Opera Liseu, but her participation was canceled, and then three concerts were planned with her husband, Azerbaijani tenor Yusif Eivazov. On April 13, the Russian soprano was engaged to the Berlin Philharmonic.
“I oppose this senseless, aggressive war and call on Russia to end it immediately in order to save us all. We need peace right now,” the soprano said. “Now is not the time for me to make music and perform. That’s why I decided to take a step back. It’s an extremely difficult decision for me, but I know that my audience will understand and respect that decision.”
The opera prima made her debut at the Metropolitan on February 14, 2002 in Prokofiev’s War and Peace and quickly became a favorite of the audience. She participated in a total of 192 performances, the last of which was a New Year’s gala performance on December 31, 2019.
On the New York stage, Anna Netrebko will be replaced by Ukrainian soprano Lyudmila Monastirska in Puccini’s Turandot for five performances from April 30th to May 14th, including May 7th, which will be broadcast in theaters around the world. The Metropolitan also said that the Russian soprano will not play the role of Elizabeth in Verdi’s opera Don Carlos, which will be performed five times from November 3 to 19.
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Gergiev was fired as conductor of the Munich Philharmonic
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Anna Netrebko: Russian artists should not be forced to take political positions
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The Paris Philharmonic and La Scala canceled the performances of Valery Gergiev
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Conductor Valery Gergiev was left without an impresario because of his ties to Vladimir Putin
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