Russian soprano Anna Netrebko to sing in Monte Carlo
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NEW YORK • Russian superstar soprano Anna Netrebko, whose international career crumbled after the invasion of Ukraine because of her past support of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been invited to sing in Monaco this month at the Opera de Monte-Carlo.
Netrebko, 50, was scheduled to sing the title role of Puccini's Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera in New York this month. But the company, like many in the West, parted ways with her over concerns that she had failed to sufficiently distance herself from Mr Putin after he began the war in Ukraine.
She will now appear in Monaco, singing the title role in another Puccini opera, Manon Lescaut, in four performances at the Opera de Monte-Carlo, the company announced last Thursday. They will be her first engagements since the invasion began in late February, but she has other appearances planned later this spring.
On her stage debut at the Monte Carlo Opera, Netrebko said in a statement: "It is going to be made even more special by performing with my husband, tenor Yusif Eyvazov, in the same Puccini masterpiece that marked our first encounter at the Rome Opera in 2014."
Netrebko has faced a wave of cancellations at leading opera houses.
She once endorsed Mr Putin's reelection and was photographed in 2014 with a flag used by Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine.
After initially denouncing the war but remaining silent on Mr Putin, Netrebko saw her engagements in the West evaporate.
She issued a new statement last month seeking to distance herself from Mr Putin, saying she had met him only a few times and that she was not "allied with any leader of Russia".
Her words prompted a backlash in Russia, with a theatre in Novosibirsk, Siberia, cancelling an appearance and a senior lawmaker denouncing her as a traitor.
Opera de Monte-Carlo defended its decision to hire Netrebko, saying she had done enough to distance herself from the war.
It described its decision as artistic, noting that Netrebko is to replace the Italian soprano Maria Agresta, who cancelled because of illness.
A spokesman said: "We very much regret that Maria Agresta has had to cancel for health reasons, but we are happy that Anna Netrebko has accepted to sing these four performances of Manon Lescaut."
NYTIMES
