Monday marked an emotional night at the Metropolitan Opera, as the cast of Don Carlos lined up on stage ahead of opening night to sing the Ukrainian national anthem.
The public showed solidarity during the performance at Lincoln Center. The idea came from the opera company’s general manager, Peter Gelb, earlier in the day.
“When I woke up this morning, I said why don’t we sing the Ukrainian national anthem?” Gelb said, adding that the company agreed it was an important message to send.
Taking center stage during the moving tribute was 24-year-old company member Vlad Buialskiy, whose entire family is still in Ukraine amid the fighting.
“I want to help my family and my country as much as I can, but I’m here at this very difficult time because my whole family is here, all my friends,” he said.
Buialskiy shed a tear as he left the stage.
“I was trying not to cry because it’s so emotional,” he said. “I told my mom and my friends and they said it’s wonderful and they’re thankful to the Met.”
The Met Opera also announced that it would sever ties with all artists and staff members who support Vladimir Putin, and they will not be allowed to return until the fighting ends and restitution is made.
“It does not affect our ability to make productions in a significant way. The Met has a great resource, it can affect some important singers,” Gelb said.
Preparing the company for the last-minute performance of the anthem wasn’t easy, but they found the music and the performers learned the words in the morning, with Vlad’s help on the pronunciation just before continuing into the evening.
“This is about us being brave people, we have our freedom, our country, so don’t touch us,” Buialskiy said.
In some ways, a protest at the opera is more significant than many others, given its importance in Russia.
“In Russia, it’s a way of life. My counterpart at the Bolshoi is appointed by Putin,” Gelb said. “It’s all in Russia, so the fact that the Met is sending a signal like this I think has additional meaning for the Russians, if they ever get the message, and certainly for the Ukrainians.”
The Met hopes that other arts institutions in the US and abroad will follow suit and use its platform to take a stand.
The Met Opera is among a growing number of groups and organizations taking action against Russia, five days after the country invaded Ukraine.
The International Olympic Committee has called for the country’s athletes and officials to be barred from international events. FIFA and UEFA suspended the Russian national teams from participating in football matches.
On social media, Twitter announced measures to reduce the visibility of Russian state-backed tweets. Meanwhile, Facebook has banned state media from running ads on its platform.
–
