The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

War in Ukraine: Russian soprano Anna Netrebko applauded in Paris, after the controversy

2022-05-26T09:29:57.029Z


One of the greatest lyrical voices in the world, she was among the first Russian artists to be singled out for not having


The public gave him a triumphant welcome when he entered the stage, applauding for long minutes, during this concert postponed three times because of the pandemic.

On Wednesday evening, the star Russian soprano Anna Netrebko received a standing ovation at the Philharmonie de Paris.

It was her return to the stage in a Western capital, after being criticized since the war in Ukraine.

Live from the @philharmonie for the return of Anna Netrebko.

đź‘€ pic.twitter.com/5nB33pphd8

— SherlockEdoga (@SherlockEdoga) May 25, 2022

A demonstration castigating his arrival was however organized in front of the building, by the Union of Ukrainians of France.

Our demonstration in front of the @philharmonie against the concert of @AnnaNetrebko! #Netrebko pic.twitter.com/QWv8UDeZAe

— Kogutyak Volodymyr (@KogutyakV) May 25, 2022

The artist, who appeared on Wednesday evening smiling and relaxed, wearing a long black and white dress, had, on March 30, "expressly condemned the war against Ukraine", which earned her to be withdrawn from the poster in his own country.

She, who is one of the greatest lyrical voices in the world, was among the first Russian artists to be singled out after the start of the Russian invasion for not having clearly denounced the war.

The prestigious Metropolitan Opera in New York, of which she was the star, thus deprogrammed her for an indefinite period and she then announced that she was temporarily withdrawing from the stage.

Never allied with "any leader of Russia"

The soprano has never openly proclaimed her support for Russian President Vladimir Putin, but she is accused of having posed in December 2015 in Saint Petersburg with the flag of the pro-Russian separatist rebels and of having presented a check for one million rubles (about 15,000 euros) to pro-Russian Ukrainian leader Oleg Tsarev.

Anna Netrebko defended herself by explaining that she wanted to support the arts, and more particularly the Donetsk Opera, to which Ukraine had cut all funding, and assured that she had "never received financial support from the Russian government" and not to ever be allied with "any leader of Russia".

In an interview with the daily Le Monde on Sunday, she repeated that she was "guilty of nothing", affirming that her only mistake was not having "informed herself more about the situation in Donbass" and that she wanted “just helping friends in difficulty”.

Russian artists urged to display their patriotism

“I was also asked to declare myself against Vladimir Putin.

I answered that I had a Russian passport, that it was still the president, and that I could not pronounce these words publicly.

So I refused,” she added.

Despite its condemnation of the war, the Met has called into question all of its contracts until May 2026, according to her.

His former mentor, the conductor Valery Gergiev, close to the Kremlin, was declared persona non grata by Western concert halls.

In their country, Russian artists have been called upon to display their patriotism or, failing that, to remain silent, and in Western countries, to publicly distance themselves from the military operation and the Russian regime.

On Wednesday evening, she interpreted pieces by Rachmaninoff, Debussy or Tchaikovsky, before receiving a standing ovation at the end of the show.

His previous recital in Paris dates back to 2019, during a gala for the 350th anniversary of the Paris Opera.

She will be back in December on the stage of this institution to sing in "La Force du destin" by Verdi.

It will also make its big comeback in Italy, at the Arena of Verona this summer.

Source: leparis

All news articles on 2022-05-26

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.