NEW YORK, NY.- Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, superstar soprano Anna Netrebko has been persona non grata at cultural institutions in the United States, shunned for her past support of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But in February, Netrebko will make her first appearance in the United States since 2019: She will perform in Florida at a gala concert at the Breakers Palm Beach hotel to benefit the Palm Beach Opera, the company announced Wednesday.
Netrebko, one of the biggest stars in classical music, has in recent months returned to many top concert halls and opera houses in Paris, Milan, Berlin and elsewhere in Europe, prompting some protests but also winning ovations and strong reviews.
But most American institutions, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where she reigned as a prima donna for two decades, have continued to refuse to engage her because of her past support for Putin and her unwillingness to criticize him now. Her last performance in the United States was before the pandemic, when she headlined a gala New Year’s Eve performance at the Met Opera.
In a statement, Netrebko said she was looking forward to singing in Florida.
“I am honored to be lending my voice to the Palm Beach Opera’s annual gala,” she said. “I am excited to spend time in this beautiful community.”
James Barbato, who leads the Palm Beach Opera, said in a statement that Netrebko was “more than a great artist with a magnetic stage presence and a voice of breathtaking beauty and power.”
“She is a cultural icon,” he said, “and her long-awaited return to the U.S. is not to be missed.”
Since the invasion, Netrebko has said in a statement that she condemns the war in Ukraine, but she has refrained from explicitly criticizing Putin, and she has not spoken in depth about her previous record of support for him.
Some arts leaders criticized the Palm Beach Opera’s decision to hire her. Peter Gelb, general manager of the Met, who severed the company’s ties with Netrebko two years ago, citing her “close association with Putin,” said Palm Beach had made an “unfortunate decision.” He said he felt that Netrebko had made a “disingenuous effort to distance herself from the Russian war effort.”
Netrebko protested the Met’s action, filing a complaint last year through the American Guild of Musical Artists, the union representing opera performers. An arbitrator in that dispute ordered the Met to pay her more than $200,000 for 13 canceled performances.
Netrebko continued her fight, suing the Met last year and seeking at least $360,000. In her complaint, she accused the company of discriminating against her because she is Russian; of issuing “defamatory” statements about her in the press; and of breaching contracts by not paying her for some lost work. (The Met has disputed her claims.)
Miguel Esteban, Netrebko’s manager, rejected Gelb’s criticisms, providing a 28-page “fact sheet” containing her previous comments and social media posts about the war, along with responses to her critics. He said Netrebko had not returned to Russia since the invasion.
Will she ever return to the Met?
Gelb said that “she can a sing a recital at the Met tomorrow if it was to benefit Ukraine.”
Esteban wrote in an email that “Anna Netrebko will be happy to consider an invitation to return to the Metropolitan Opera — after the departure of its current general director.”
Netrebko has garnered attention recently for personal reasons. She recently separated from her husband, tenor Yusif Eyvazov, with whom she frequently performed.
“After 10 happy years together, we have made the difficult but amicable decision to separate,” the couple said in a joint statement last month. Netrebko and Eyvazov said they would remain “wonderful friends” and continue to work together.
This article originally appeared in
The New York Times.
