Singer with Putin ties met boos and protests during performance: report

Anna Netrebko, one of the world’s most famous opera singers, drew an angry reaction from the audience last week during her first performance at the Vienna State Opera since Russia invaded Ukraine.

The guard reported that Netrebko was booed by the audience on September 5 as she took the stage for the first of three performances of Giacomo Puccini La boheme at the Austrian Opera House. The newspaper also wrote that a group of Ukrainians protested against the Russian soprano in front of the venue.

Netrebko has been criticized in recent months for her past support for Russian President Vladimir Putin. She has been photographed with him numerous times over the years, including in 2008 when he awarded her the title of Honorary Artist. She also supported Putin’s 2012 presidential election and joked during a 2011 interview news week how she wished she had had the opportunity to be Putin’s mistress while praising his “strong, masculine energy”.

After the Russian attack on Ukraine in late February, New York’s Metropolitan Opera replaced Netrebko for performances of Puccini Turandot in April with a Ukrainian singer. The Met said Netrebko will not be invited to perform for the foreseeable future due to her past ties to Putin.

Since then, Netrebko has tried to distance himself from Putin. She has been critical of the war in Ukraine, but has said nothing to overtly disparage the Russian president.

“I am not a member of any political party or affiliated with any leader in Russia,” Netrebko said in a March statement on Facebook. “I acknowledge and regret that any previous actions or statements made by me could be misconstrued.”

Netrebko also said she never received any financial support from the Russian government, adding that she resides in Austria.

“I love my native Russia and seek peace and unity only through my art,” Netrebko wrote.

The guard reported that after the angry reaction during the opening night of La boheme, she got a much more positive reaction from the audience on 9/11 for her second performance. Her last appointment as Mimì in the Puccini classic is scheduled for Sunday.

Bogdan Roščić, General Manager of the Vienna State Opera, defended the casting of Netrebko to The guard.

“No one can exist outside of politics. I also reject the notion that gifted people should be forgiven for things for which lesser mortals are blamed,” he said. “But that’s not the same as construing a duty for artists to preach about morals or have those morals corroborated by Pitchfork mobs on Twitter,” he told the outlet.

This was announced by Netrebko’s General Manager Miguel Esteban news week in a statement, excerpt:

“Anna is sensitive to the fact that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has provoked strong reactions around the world. Anna defends everyone’s right to freedom of expression. She understands why people choose to demonstrate outside of, or boo within, the venues she performs in. She understands why prominent artists are canceling or otherwise attempting to cancel their legally binding agreements, to the point of going so far in at least one instance that an opera house deletes their performance history with them from their website.

“Anna’s statements – particularly the use of the word ‘war’ in relation to the invasion of Ukraine – could land her in jail if she were to return to Russia, which she has not done since the conflict began. Family and friends living in Russia life is in danger. To ask her to openly condemn Vladimir Putin is going too far.

“Anna has no political views, she sings.”

Update 9/13/22 4:45 PM ET: This story has been updated to include a comment from Netrebko’s manager.