Ukrainian musicians refused to perform together with Anna Netrebko

Ukrainian classical musicians have announced that they intend to refuse to participate in the international festival in Wiesbaden, Germany, which will be held in May. They believe that they cannot afford to perform on the same stage with the Russian opera singer Anna Netrebko, who is also invited to the festival. The Ministry of Culture of Ukraine gave the organizers of the festival an ultimatum: either the participation of Ukrainian performers or Netrebko.

According to Deutsche Welle, the organizing committee of the festival in Wiesbaden received official letters from the general director of the National Opera of Ukraine Petro Chupryna and from the Minister of Culture of Ukraine Oleksandr Tkachenko, also addressed to the Minister of Culture Klaudia Roth. Tkachenko’s message states that the Ukrainian side will not tolerate any cooperation with people who represent Russian culture, as well as any events in which Russian culture is represented.

Politicians of the federal state of Hesse, where Wiesbaden is located, spoke in support of the position of the Ukrainians. However, the management of the Hessen State Theater, where the festival will be held, said that raising the question in this way is unacceptable in a free country. In its statement, the theater emphasized that it adheres to anti-war positions and supports Ukraine, but this cannot mean that it is ready to condemn the entire Russian culture and exclude Russian artists based solely on the criterion of their origin.

The Federal Minister of Culture and Mass Media of the Federal Republic of Germany, Claudia Roth, said that she understood Ukraine’s position, but cautioned against a boycott of Russian culture in general, and advised Ukrainian artists and musicians to decide for themselves whether to perform in Wisbaden or not.

• Opera singer Anna Netrebko is one of the most sought-after sopranos in the world, People’s Artist of Russia. She lives in Vienna, where she is the leading soloist of the Vienna Opera, and gives concerts in many countries of the world. In Russia, in 2012, Netrebko was registered as a proxy of Vladimir Putin in his election campaign. She supported separatist actions in Donbass in 2014.
• After the start of Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Netrebko declared that she condemned the war, but remained a patriot of Russia and its culture. She emphasized that she “wants to remain a person” and a cultural figure, even if for this she needs to “sit on two chairs.”
• On February 28, 4 days after the beginning of the Russian invasion, the Metropolitan Opera severed all relations with Anna Netrebko. The theater’s statement said that they will not be restored until Russia ends the war and compensates Ukraine for the damage caused.
• At the same time, in Russia, after Netrebko declared anti-war, there were also cancellations of her speeches.