In a comment (since deleted) to the publication of a message on Facebook in which the Met Opera congratulated itself on having participated in the New York Gay Pride at the end of June, René Pape indicated that he condemned this initiative and that he no longer wanted to return to sing with the New York institution. An outing deemed homophobic which may hide another reason for disagreement with the Met.
Rene Pope: Now New York is just a remnant of what it was.
It seems that René Pape did not support the Met Opera’s initiative, which has been recurrent for several years, to mobilize for the homosexual cause. Several artists and staff from the institution took part in Gay Pride on June 26 in the streets of New York, marching on a float they had decorated. Participation which was relayed in a post from the Met’s Facebook account.
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In his comment to that post, which he later removed, the German bass wrote: ” wow! For me it’s a reason not to come back! Dear Met thank you for the last 35 years! What I see now… Horrible! People who don’t know who they are and use this wonderful institution to explain who they should be! (…) Thank you New York for this good time in a great world! From now on you are only a small vestige of what you were! I’m sorry for this wonderful city! Ok, see you soon somewhere…”
René Pape close to a Russian musician who supports Vladimir Putin
To date, neither the singer, his entourage and the management of the Met have commented on this episode but it seems likely that we will not see René Pape performing again soon at Lincoln Center where his last appearance, applauded by critics, goes back to last fall in Boris Godounov by Modest Mussorgsky. This homophobic slippage of the German singer may hide another latent disagreement with the management of the Met, which has already removed Anna Netrebko from its programming because of her ” proximity “ with Russian power. Last January, René Pape performed in Moscow on the occasion of the birthday of Yuri Bachmet, the Russian violist who has never denied his support for Vladimir Putin and reiterated it again recently despite the military intervention in Ukraine. Did he prefer to take the lead with this more than awkward exit?
Philippe Gault
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