Anna Netrebko Sues Metropolitan Opera for Defamation and Breach of Contract Following Ukrainian Conflict

Russian soprano Anna Netrebko during La Scala’s season opening performance of Giacomo Puccini’s opera “Tosca” at La Scala in Milan (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Soprano Anna Netrebko, once one of the New York Metropolitan Opera’s biggest box office draws, is suing the company and general manager Peter Gelb, alleging defamation, breach of contract and other violations related to the institution’s decision to cut ties with her after the Russian invasion of the Ukraine.

The lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Manhattan, seeks at least $360,000 in damages for lost performances and rehearsal fees. Netrebko claims the Met caused “severe mental and emotional distress” including “depression, humiliation, shame, stress and anxiety, and emotional pain and suffering.”

The opera must compensate Netrebko for 13 canceled performances (EFE/FLORIAN WIESER)

The Met withdrew the Russian soprano from future engagements shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Gelb had demanded that Netrebko disown Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Met and Peter Gelb have used Anna Netrebko as a scapegoat in their campaign to distance themselves from Russia and support Ukraine,” the 51-year-old soprano’s representatives said in a statement. There was no immediate response to the Netrebko lawsuit from the Met or Gelb.

It may interest you: The renowned opera “Cavalleria Rusticana”, by Pietro Mascagni returns to the Avenida Theater

The Musical Artists Union of America filed a grievance on Netrebko’s behalf, and arbitrator Howard C. Edelman ruled in February that the Met violated the union’s collective bargaining agreement when it canceled engagements with Netrebko to appear on “Don Carlo” and “La Forza del Destino” by Verdi and “Andrea Chénier” by Giordano. He awarded the soprano severance pay for the missed performances, which the union estimated at more than $209,000.

The Russian soprano Anna Netrebko is recognized worldwide (EFE/FLORIAN WIESER)

Netrebko, who made his Met debut in 2002, was to receive the company’s top fee of $17,000 per performance, according to the lawsuit. Edelman noted that Netrebko voluntarily withdrew from performances of Wagner’s “Lohengrin” and Puccini’s “Turandot” and that he was owed nothing for them.

The lawsuit alleges breach of additional agreements for 40 performances of Puccini’s “Tosca” and Tchaikovsky’s “The Queen of Spades” during the 2024-25 season and Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut” and Verdi’s “Macbeth” in 2025-26. Going beyond the scope of arbitration, the lawsuit claims that Netrebko was discriminated against because of her nationality.

Netrebko alleges that the Met and Gelb “damaged her relationship with the public and fueled protests against her performances” and “the reputation Gelb and the Met have caused has caused other opera houses and cultural institutions in the United States to refrain from hiring to Netrebko”. She points out that the soprano was forced to sell her New York City apartment at a loss.

The Russian soprano Anna Netrebko in the opera “Manon Lescaut” by Giacomo Puccini, at the prestigious Salzburg Festival (EFE/Alejandra Silva)

The lawsuit says that “due to the Met’s requirement that Netrebko issue public statements opposing the Russian government’s actions, Russian politicians have denounced Netrebko, Russian theater companies have canceled their contracts with her, the Russian public has criticized her.” on social media and in the Russian press, and Netrebko and his family and friends in Russia have been at risk of harm, retaliation, and action by the Russian government.”

While he was absent from the United States, Netrebko opened Italy’s Arena di Verona centennial season in June with a new production of Verdi’s “Aida.”

She is scheduled to perform this month at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and her 2023-24 season includes engagements with the Staatsoper unter den Linden in Berlin, the Vienna State Opera, the Teatro alla Scala in Milan and the Paris Opera.

Source: AP

Keep reading

“The libertine’s career”, a milestone in Stravinsky’s careerNaples pays tribute to Enrico Caruso with a new museumMaría Suárez premieres her opera, an inclusive love story that challenges prejudice
2023-08-05 15:31:43


#Soprano #Anna #Netrebko #sued #York #Metropolitan #Opera