Soprano Anna Netrebko Withdraws from Met Performances

Despite posting on Instagram last week that she is "opposed to this war," Russian opera singer Anna Netrebko has withdrawn from her upcoming appearances with New York's Metropolitan Opera.

In a statement released by the Met, Netrebko could not give a clear withdrawal of support for Russian President Vladimir Putin, which goes against the MET's stance on the war.

Last week, in a video on its Facebook page, the Met's general manager Peter Gelb said that the company will “no longer engage with artists or institutions that support Putin or are supported by him – not until the invasion or killing has stopped, order has been restored and restitutions have been made.”

The performances in question include Netrebko's role in Puccini's Turandot this April and May, in which she will be replaced by Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska. Monastyrska has sung Turandot previously at the Ukrainian National Opera and at the Bolshoi and made her Met debut in 2012. Tickets for Turandot on April 30, May 3, 7, 11, and 14 are available here.

Netrebko has also withdrawn from the role of Elisabeth de Valois in the 2022–23 performances of Don Carlo — the replacement for which will be announced at a later date.

“It is a great artistic loss for the Met and for opera,” said Met General Manager Peter Gelb. “Anna is one of the greatest singers in Met history, but with Putin killing innocent victims in Ukraine, there was no way forward.”

Netrebko has also pulled out from Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur at Milan's La Scala — being replaced by Maria Agresta — and from Macbeth at Switzerland’s Opernhaus Zürich.