For long minutes the audience at the Hamburg Opera House was on its feet, cheering and thanking the artists on stage.
Repeatedly the opera singers Anna Netrebko and Yusif Ibzov bowed before the excited and enthusiastic audience of the two's performance, which consisted of a line of popular arias.
The excitement in the hall was in sharp contrast to what took place outside a few hours earlier, when dozens of Ukrainians demonstrated outside the hall against Netrebko - a demonstration that has already become familiar - this alongside other cultural institutions that closed the door to her, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York, for not condemning the war.
Netrebko posted on her Instagram account that she is "opposed to this war", but her general statement made her controversial in the cultural world, a world that has often crowned her as the heir to Maria Callas, one of the greatest opera stars of all time.
The singer will come to Israel for only one concert (October 1 at the Culture Hall in Tel Aviv) when she is accompanied to the stage by her husband and her partner, the tenor singer Yosif Ibzov.
The two will perform accompanied by the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marco Buemi.
Opera singer Yosif Ibzov, photo: Berin Iglesias Art
In the interview from Hamburg, which took place just before the two's performance last week, their excitement about arriving in Israel is evident.
"I am very much looking forward to my concert in Israel together with my wonderful husband," she declares excitedly.
"We will perform a special program that will include well-known opera hits - both from serious operas and from those that are a little less so - so that people will recognize the songs, and I hope they will like what we do."
Netrebko did not hesitate to be interviewed, it is evident that the recent period has made this a difficult task for her, which causes her husband to take the reins and speak on behalf of both of them.
"In these times it is a challenge to be interviewed, it is very difficult, especially for people like Anna, because you cannot escape the question about the war and answer something that will satisfy everyone. I was in Israel in 2008 on a concert tour, but this is the first time we will perform together, and it is very exciting. We have a lot of friends in Israel and a large part of my family, so we are really looking forward to it. In the show, we will combine well-known and popular arias, and we will also do a cross-over to well-known pop songs. It is also suitable for an audience that is not used to consuming opera."
Opera on TikTok
Does the connection to pop stem from the desire to attract more young audiences to opera?
"Recently I see a lot of young people coming to the opera, and of course we also use social networks, that's where they are. I also have Tiktok because I do crossover with pop hits, but I'm not on it much, unfortunately. I don't have time for that, I have to work on it ".
The corona changed everything, and now we are starting to get back to normal. What about you? Can you perform all over the world?
"During Corona, we stayed at home for only four months. We started performing in front of a limited audience, and slowly it returned to normal. There are many choirs and orchestras that did not return, which is sad. In Asia, the situation is still difficult. We have a big tour next year in China, Japan and Korea. In some places We know there are restrictions - especially in China - and we still don't know if we will be able to perform, because there if someone gets sick they close everything. In Europe if someone gets sick they just replace him."
Ibzov grew up in Azerbaijan and discovered the world of music only at university, where he started singing in an amateur group and paved his way with a lot of toil and sweat, unlike his wife.
"Anna was born with this voice, she opens the voice - and it's there. I had to work on it, build the voice I have today, and it's not easy. I moved to Italy to study there, I never gave up, I believed in myself and knew that one day I would succeed. A career as an opera singer is 100% risk. Every day you come on stage and you don't know what will happen. If you are not strong enough, you will not survive in this field. You have to do sports, take care of your body, eat healthy."
Then he comes to the Israeli food: "I'm already waiting for the hummus with the meat I ate in Israel, I don't remember the name of the place where we sat," he laughs.
The two have been together since 2014 and it seems that they cracked the formula for a happy relationship in the world of opera.
"At home we are not singers. From the first day we met we decided never to bring work home. When we come home we talk about other things."
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