New York’s famed Metropolitan Opera cut ties with its Russian superstar soprano after she failed to distance herself from Russian President Vladimir Putin amid the crisis in Ukraine, the Met announced Thursday.
Even though Anna Netrebko had issued statements in recent days critical of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, she has stayed silent on Putin himself, whose reelection she has publicly endorsed in the past.
Peter Gelb, the company’s general manager, called Netrebko’s dismissal “a great artistic loss” and praised her as one of the best singers in Met history but added, “with Putin killing innocent victims in Ukraine, there was no way forward.”
Netrebko, the reigning prima donna, had been with the company for more than 20 years and sang in nearly 200 performances.
Despite her successful career, Gelb said it was unlikely she would ever be welcomed back.
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“It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which she will return to the Met,” he told the New York Times.
In 2014, Netrebko was photographed holding a flag used by Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine.
Her ouster comes as other Russian artists have faced repercussions for their allegiance to Putin.
Valery Gergiev, the star Russian maestro who has close ties with Putin, was removed from his post as chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic after he refused to denounce Russia’s invasion. Gergiev, like Netrebko, has publicly supported Putin. He led a 2008 concert in South Ossetia, a region of Georgia, and two years later led another in Palmyra in Syria after it was retaken by Russian forces.
Earlier this week, Netrebko posted a picture on Instagram of herself with Gergiev. In a separate post, she wrote, “As I have said, 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.”
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Both posts have since been deleted.
Netrebko will be replaced in an upcoming performance of Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot by Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska.
