Prima Donna Elicits Protest

Anna Netrebko, a prominent Russian opera singer, has caused a backlash for returning to London’s prestigious Royal Opera House. In 2022,  in the wake of Russia's full-scale war invasion of Ukraine, many European opera houses cut ties with Netrebko due to her past associations with Vladimir Putin. Now, three years later, she has been invited to return to London to perform Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca.

The backlash was strong: on August 14 a letter was sent to The Guardian calling Netrebko a “longtime symbol of cultural propaganda for a regime that is responsible for serious war crimes.” The letter was signed by over 50 Ukrainian artists, as well as by world leaders, including the former prime minister of New Zealand.

Netrebko’s personal history with the Russian regime is muddled and contradictory. Much of the outrage at her return to London is due to the fact that she has been photographed with Vladimir Putin on multiple occasions, notably in 2008 (when she was awarded the People’s Artist of Russia) and in 2013 (at the opening of St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky II Theatre). Netrebko has also been denounced for her relationship with Valery Gergiev, a Russian conductor who acted as her mentor. Gergiev has repeatedly publicized his support for Putin and his regime.

Still, though Netrebko has been seen with Putin at events celebrating Russian art, she has denounced Putin’s war. In 2022, after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Netrebko took to social media to call for the end of this “senseless war of aggression” and to deny her personal ties to any Russian leaders. Still, Netrebko draws intense criticism. Her performance at the Vienna State Opera in 2022 was greeted with boos and protesters outside, and her upcoming role in Tosca is likely to meet with a similar reaction.