Anna Netrebko is wearing white rabbit
mainTrimmed with silk, our fashion correspondent advises. The white Rex rabbit cape was ‘manufactured by hand at Rome’s Fendi fur atelier in consultation with costume designer Alessandro Lai’ for her Rome Opera debut tonight in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut. Expect animal rights outrage. And a touch of Alice in Wonderland.
Photo by Silvia Lelli
It shouldn’t be simply “animal tights outrage” but outrage from anyone who feels compassion for other living creatures. Fur is vulgar and barbaric and opera companies should know better than to promote it on stages. Boo to Netrebko for endorsing this too.
@ Bernie
Included in your reasoning would be to outlaw the meat industry?
I would say that much of the commercial meat industry needs serious reform. But the issue for me is, humans don’t need to kill animals to stay warm in 2014. We have a range of other fabrics from which we can make our clothing. Wearing fur is about vanity, pure and simple. Also, the ways in which animals are killed to harvest their fur is far more cruel than at least a free-range method of farming for meat.
Again, very tacky Netrebko.
We eat rabbit meat! So using their fur instead of discarding it is smart. With your twisted logic we should not even seat on leather sofas!
Rubbish. No doubt lives in a town and is against hunting,but does’nt realise farmers know best.
Rabbits live short lives and in this case would not have lived at all had the specific business not given them life for this purpose … and aren’t they living on in a sense — a sort of memorial — incorporated into a fine garment … possibly kinder expiration than mangled by a hawk?
Animal righters probably think differently though.
I do not have a strong anti-fur stance, nor am I a vegetarian, but I would think that for the purposes of appearing on a stage, couldn’t the costumer designer/director/performer have worn fake fur? After all, who could tell the difference from a distance of 30 paces? Artistic integrity, if there is such a thing, at least as relates to ‘real’ or ‘fake’ clothing materials, should hardly be reason enough to wear what the singer did wear.
Ms Netrebko and her “real Chinchilla coat” vs Ms Voigt and the dead air, live:
http://youtu.be/2oqQtdRdbYs?t=2m26s
Apologies- The Netrebko coat saga begins after 2:15 minutes into the video.
Wait – so this debut is actually happening? The strike isn’t going ahead?
(The Mayor of Rome isn’t going to liquidate the Opera di Roma – at least yet?)
What’s the status of that story, Norman? Do you have any sources there?
Nothing’s certain, at this point. Except the rabbit.
The “prima” is happening tomorrow, for the other performances not yet certain – probably not…
Shame on the sindicati, still want to see the Rabbit coat! (and hear Netrebko in this new role!)
Any information on why they’re actually on strike? Being a socialist, I’m alway inclined to support industrial action.
Why are some of the unions at the Rome Opera threatening to strike?
Well, as you probably know, many of Italy’s opera houses are in severe financial distress. A law from last fall known as the Bray Law provides money to help rescue those houses if they restructure their operations – very much including staff reductions. (Even many observers who generally support workers appear to agree that most Italian opera houses tend to be overstaffed.)
To oversimplify a bit, the unions threatening to strike object to the restructuring plan prepared to comply with the Bray Law.
If the fondazione that operates a house doesn’t restructure and runs out of money, under the law it may be liquidated. Thus the threat from Rome’s Mayor that Norman reported yesterday.
There’s a brief explanation of the Bray Law in the 10th paragraph of this article from last October on WQXR’s Operavore blog.
Hope this helps.
The prima was a triumph http://www.ilmessaggero.it/ROMA/CULTURA/roma_teatro_opera_manon_lescaut/notizie/545067.shtml
Hope for Sunday performance!
That’s why opera companies and countries are in deep shxx thanks to unions and socialism in general.
Thank you, MWnyc!
Stereo, I don’t get your point.
@ Medi,
“questa sera va regolarmente in scena”
http://www.operaroma.it/
Prima is TODAY.
No threatened action by the Leporine Liberation Front?
Hope I can see this coat on Sunday! …Still not sure if further performances will happen because of strike. Leading a group of opera lovers to Rome this weekend…(with Palco Reale)
Boo to murdering the rabbits. Megaboos for supporting Putin. Shameful, absolutely shameful.
Perhaps some of the opera singers on here can comment: If you are a star singer in an opera, how much say do you get over your costumes? So if one happens to be anti-fur and are confronted with e.g. a real mink coat to wear, can one insist on refusing to appear in it on moral grounds? I’m guessing there’s no choice in the matter for chorus members or minor roles.
I’m no singer, but my guess is: 99% of singers don’t have any say in this. Ms. Netrebko does.
Hooray for the food chain!
Oh the double standard!
How about the same type of post for Yuja wearing a Gucci fur stole for NPR?
http://www.npr.org/event/music/279059784/on-a-chilly-factory-floor-yuja-wangs-piano-sizzles?utm_campaign=music&utm_source=nprmusic&utm_medium=twitter
“The 27-year-old ultra-glam artist wore one of her trademark dresses, significant stiletto booties and a Gucci fur stole, as well as some wrist warmers as a concession to the temperature”
http://www.gucci.com/us/category/f/scarves___shawls/fur#look2437604lookA113
At least we eat rabbit meat! http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1660637/slowcooked-rabbit-stew
Yummy!