Latest news with #culturalpropaganda
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Royal Opera House urged to drop Russian soprano ‘with Kremlin links'
The Royal Opera House (ROH) has been urged to drop a Russian soprano who has been described as a 'muse of Putin'. Anna Netrebko is set to perform in Puccini's Tosca at the Covent Garden venue, but Ukrainian campaigners have raised concerns about her alleged links to the Kremlin. The singer was branded a 'muse of Putin' by campaigners who protested against her appearances in Germany. An open letter addressed to the ROH states that 'it is …with great pain that we witness the Royal Opera House inviting Anna Netrebko – a long-time symbol of cultural propaganda for a regime that is responsible for serious war crimes – to return to its stage in title roles'. Signatories include the Ukrainian novelists Andriy Kurkov and Serhiy Zhadan, Helen Clark, a former prime minister of New Zealand, and the French intellectual Bernard-Henri Levy. British MPs including John Whittingdale, vice-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Ukraine, have also signed the letter. The ROH has not commented, but it stands accused of offering a role to a supporter of Russian separatist movements in Ukraine. The letter claimed that Ms Netrebko waved the flag of 'Novorossiya', a Kremlin-backed 'separatist project in Ukraine's Donetsk region'. It also claimed that offering Ms Netrebko a high-profile platform was ill-advised at a time when Russia is making 'land-grab' offensives in Ukraine ahead of peace talks with Donald Trump. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ms Netrebko had said she 'expressly condemned' the military action, adding that she was 'not a member of any political party nor am I allied with any leader of Russia'. The ROH was among numerous cultural institutions to show support for Ukraine after the Russian invasion in 2022, although calls for a boycott of Russian performers were resisted across the classical music community in the UK. It was involved in controversy last month when Daniel Perry, a 'queer dance artist', pulled out a Palestinian flag during a curtain call for Il trovatore, and earlier this month cancelled a planned production of Tosca in Israel. It said: 'We want our stage to remain a space for shared cultural appreciation, free from individual political statements. Our support for Ukraine was aligned with the global consensus at the time. As the world's geopolitics have become more complex, our stance has changed to ensure that our actions reflect our purpose and values.'
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Royal Ballet and Opera house urged to drop Russian soprano with Putin links
More than 50 Ukrainian writers and artists, a cross-party group of UK MPs, and a former New Zealand prime minister, have urged the Royal Ballet and Opera House to drop the Russian opera singer Anna Netrebko from its new London season. Netrebko is due to perform in the RBO's production of Tosca next month. In a letter to the Guardian, the signatories describe her as a 'longtime symbol of cultural propaganda for a regime that is responsible for serious war crimes'. They suggest the RBO has put itself on the wrong side of history by inviting Netrebko to perform in title roles at a time when Russia has escalated its attacks 'on peaceful Ukrainian cities and civilians' and is trying systematically to erase Ukrainian culture. 'The Royal Opera now faces a defining choice: between status and responsibility, between profit and values, between silence and conscience. We urge you to remain, as you consistently have, on the ethical side of art – and of history,' the letter adds. Signatories include the Ukrainian novelists Andriy Kurkov and Serhiy Zhadan, the Oscar-winning film-maker Mstyslav Chernov and the chef and author Olia Hercules. The former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark has also backed the letter along with a group of MPs, and the French intellectual Bernard-Henri Lévy. The Royal Opera House and Netrebko declined to comment. Earlier this month the RBO pulled its production of Tosca at the Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv after almost 200 Royal Opera and Ballet members signed an open letter criticising the organisation's stance on Gaza. The RBO's chief executive, Alex Beard, explaining his decision, denied accusations of double standards, after the opera house confiscated a Palestinian flag in July from a performer. In 2022 it showed the Ukrainian flag as a symbol of solidarity after Moscow's full-scale invasion. Sir Alex said last week: 'Our support for Ukraine was aligned with the global consensus at the time. As the world's geopolitics have become more complex, our stance has changed to ensure that our actions reflect our purpose and values.' The Labour MP Alex Sobel, chair of the parliamentary all-party group on Ukraine, said he was 'deeply troubled' by the RBO's invitation to Netrebko and its apparent reduction in support for Kyiv. 'You can't explain it as 'complex geopolitics'. It's not complex. It's simple. Don't invite Russian supporters of the regime to perform. Ukraine is fighting for all our freedoms. This is adding insult to injury,' Sobel said. The Conservative MP John Whittingdale and the Labour MP Emily Thornberry have met Beard privately to discuss Netrebko's participation in the 2025-2026 season, and have also written to him about it. 'Anna Netrebko may be a fine soprano but she has previously shown support for Russian separatists in Ukraine and has said nothing to condemn Russian brutality since a single statement over three years ago,' Whittingdale said. The MP added: 'I am sorry that the Royal Opera House has reversed its position by inviting her to perform, and hope at the very least that she will make clear her condemnation of Putin and his regime before taking the stage in London.' Netrebko is one of the world's best-known sopranos who draws full houses for her performances at leading opera houses globally. She made her name at the Mariinsky theatre in St Petersburg, whose director, Valery Gergiev, is an ardent supporter of Russia's president, Vladimir Putin. In 2014 Netrebko made a donation to Donetsk's opera house after Russia seized the city as part of its covert armed takeover of parts of eastern Ukraine. She met a pro-Kremlin Ukrainian politician and was photographed holding the separatist flag of 'Novorossiya', later saying she did not understand what the flag meant. The Guardian letter asked: 'Can the Opera credibly claim neutrality and integrity while offering its stage to someone who, in 2014, publicly waved the flag of 'Novorossiya', the Kremlin's separatist project in Ukraine's Donetsk region, parts of which remain under Russian military occupation?' A longtime Austrian citizen and resident, Netrebko issued a statement in March 2022 condemning the war in Ukraine. 'My thoughts are with the victims of this war and their families,' she posted on Facebook, saying she was not a member of a political party nor 'allied with any leader of Russia'. 'I acknowledge and regret that past actions or statements of mine could have been misinterpreted,' she added, saying she had met Putin 'only a handful of times' at awards ceremonies and the Olympics. 'I love my homeland of Russia and only seek peace and unity through my art,' she wrote. Netrebko has carefully avoided directly criticising the Russian president, who in 2008 gave her the honorary title of 'people's artist'. In March 2022 the Metropolitan Opera cited her failure to condemn Putin for its decision to drop her from a run of Turandot, with her role given to a Ukrainian artist. Other invitations dried up. She has subsequently made a comeback, appearing at the Vienna State Opera and singing to a full house at La Scala in Milan. She is scheduled to perform for four nights at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden from 11 September, with another appearance in December, starring in Turandot.
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
The Royal Ballet and Opera must reconsider its invitation to Anna Netrebko
For Ukrainians, the UK's unwavering support – from its governments to its people and cultural institutions like the Royal Ballet and Opera – has been a vital source of strength and hope amid Russia's brutal war of aggression. It is, therefore, with great pain that we witness the Royal Opera House inviting Anna Netrebko – a longtime symbol of cultural propaganda for a regime that is responsible for serious war crimes – to return to its stage in title roles. Even more troubling is the statement by the chief executive of the Royal Ballet and Opera suggesting that its earlier support for Ukraine 'was aligned with the global consensus at the time' and that its position has since changed due to 'complex geopolitics'. We must ask: do Russia's recent escalated attacks on peaceful Ukrainian cities and civilians and its intentional and systematic attempts to erase Ukrainian culture fall into this category of complexity, somehow justifying Netrebko's return? Can the Royal Opera credibly claim neutrality and integrity while offering its stage to someone who, in 2014, publicly waved the flag of 'Novorossiya', the Kremlin's separatist project in Ukraine's Donetsk region, parts of which remain under Russian military occupation? The Royal Opera now faces a defining choice: between status and responsibility, between profit and values, between silence and conscience. We urge you to remain, as you consistently have, on the ethical side of art – and of history. Sergiy Kyslytsya First deputy foreign minister of UkraineAndriy Kurkov Author, PEN UkraineHelen Clark Former prime minister of New ZealandAlex Sobel MP Labour (Co-op), Leeds Central and Headingley, and chair, all-party parliamentary group on UkraineJohn Whittingdale MP Vice-chair, all-party parliamentary group on Ukraine; member, foreign affairs committeeRoger Gale MP Conservative, Herne Bay and SandwichScott Arthur MP Labour, Edinburgh South West Chris Law MP SNP, Dundee CentralBlair McDougall MP Labour, East Renfrewshire; member, foreign affairs committeeJohanna Baxter MP Labour, Paisley and Renfrewshire SouthBernard-Henri Lévy Philosopher, journalist, film-maker and public intellectualMstyslav Chernov Producer, film-makerSerhiy Zhadan Author, translatorRoza Tapanova Director, Babyn Yar national historical and memorial reserveKathy Nalywajko President, Ukrainian Institute of AmericaLydia Zaininger Executive director, Ukrainian Institute of AmericaBohdana Pivnenko Violinist, general director and artistic director, National Ensemble of Soloists Kyiv CamerataSvitlana Azarova Composer, The Hague, NetherlandsDr Olesya Khromeychuk Historian, writer, director of the Ukrainian Institute LondonOlia Hercules Chef, award-winning author and activistPetro Rewko Chairman of the board of directors, Association of Ukrainians in Great BritainFedir Kurlak Chief executive and member of the board, Association of Ukrainians in Great BritainIryna Terlecky Chair, Ukrainian Women's Association; board member, Association of Ukrainians in Great BritainInna Hryhorovych Chair, Association of Ukrainian Teachers in Great Britain; director, Ukrainian St Mary's TrustAnna Fedeczko Chair, Ukrainian Youth Association in Great BritainDr Roman Cregg President, Ukrainian Medical Association of the UKViktoriya Shtanko CEO, Ukraine Appeal Natalia Ravlyuk Director, Support Ukraine/London EuroMaidanIryna Rapiy Deputy director of Support Ukraine/board committee member of AUGB LondonDr Tetyana Vovnyanko Trustee, British-Ukrainian AidMarta Mulyak Head, Plast Ukrainian Scouts in Great BritainMick Antoniw MS Senedd4Ukraine groupDanylo Nikiforov Founder, Ukrainian Students Union in the UKProf Dennis Ougrin Vice-president, Ukrainian Medical Association of the United KingdomAlex Lidagovsky SculptorAliona Hlivco Founder and CEO, St James's Foreign Policy GroupKateryna Babkina WriterDasha Nepochatova DPhil student, New College, University of OxfordAlexandra Kutas Disability advocate and humanitarian leaderMaria Springis Director, producer and filmmaker, Dreams Into Reality ProductionOksana Lovochkina CEO, Ukrainian Medical CharityDr Olha Mukha Senior strategist in strategic communications and human rightsAntonina Grebeniuk Founder, Ukraine Aid and Welfare, BristolAlina Luts Founder and director, Ukrainian Social Club CICKseniia Iaremych Legal counselMaria Romanenko Journalist, editor, public speaker and activistVadym Granovskiy United Kingdom Cezve/Ibrik champion and baristaEla Czuruk Group, lead volunteer, 1st Plast London Ukrainian ScoutsTetyana Birch Executive trustee, The Chernobyl Relief Foundation in the UKNataliia Horbenko Director, Ukrainian Art House in LondonOksana Miletska Trustee, Women Fight For Ukraine FoundationViktoriya Kiose Journalist and director, UABeyondKostiantyn Bidnenko Film-maker and producerProf Olga Onuch Professor of comparative and Ukrainian politics, University of ManchesterDr Daria Mattingly Senior lecturer in European history, University of ChichesterIvan Kozlenko Writer, film scholar, University of Cambridge
