Russian Soprano Anna Netrebko withdrew from her future engagements at the Metropolitan Opera rather than repudiate her support for Russian President Vladimir Putin, costing the company one of its top singers and best box-office draws, AP reported.
“It is a great artistic loss for the Met and for opera,” Met General Manager Peter Gelb said in a statement. “Anna is one of the greatest singers in Met history, but with Putin killing innocent victims in Ukraine, there was no way forward.”
Gelb had said Sunday that the Met would not engage artists who support Putin.
The Met made repeated efforts in recent days attempting to convince Netrebko to repudiate Putin, but failed to persuade her, a person familiar with the developments said, speaking on condition of anonymity because that detail was not announced.
Netrebko, a 50-year-old from Krasnodar, Russia, received the People’s Artist of Russia honor from Putin in 2008.
Netrebko withdrew from all her upcoming performances. Her next listed performance was at Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu on April 3, followed by three concerts with her husband, Azerbaijani tenor Yusif Eyvazov, and an April 13 concert with the Berlin Philharmonic.
“I am opposed to this senseless war of aggression and I am calling on Russia to end this war right now, to save all of us. We need peace right now,” she said. “This is not a time for me to make music and perform. I have therefore decided to take a step back from performing for the time being. It is an extremely difficult decision for me, but I know that my audience will understand and respect this decision.”
Netrebko will be replaced by Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska in Puccini’s “Turandot” for five performances from April 30 to May 14, including a May 7 performance broadcast to theaters worldwide. The Met said Netrebko also will be replaced as Elisabetta in Verdi’s “Don Carlo” for five performances from Nov. 3-19.
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