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Protesters outside Thursday’s opening night of Giacomo Puccini's
“Tosca” held Ukrainian flags and signs saying “While Netrebko
sings, Ukraine bleeds” and “Stop glorifying Russian aggressor
culture.”
Netrebko received an award from Russian President Vladimir Putin
in 2008 but has not performed in Russia since its full-scale
invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Netrebko, one of the world’s leading opera singers, was dropped
by New York’s Metropolitan Opera after Russia’s invasion. She is
suing the company, saying she faced discrimination on the basis
of gender and national origin.
She has continued to sing at many top houses and made her first
U.S. appearance in six years at a Palm Beach Opera recital in
February.
Last month, a group of British lawmakers and others, including
former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, urged the Royal
Ballet and Opera to cancel her appearances, her first with the
company since 2019. She is also due to perform at the London
opera house in a production of Puccini’s “Turandot” in December
and give a recital in June.
The company scrapped plans for a run of the new production of
“Tosca” in Tel Aviv next year after almost 200 staff and
performers objected because of Israel’s conduct of the war in
Gaza.
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