Just in: Anna Netrebko withdraws from the Met

Just in: Anna Netrebko withdraws from the Met

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norman lebrecht

March 11, 2020

The soprano appears to have pulled out of Tosca, having messaged only yesterday that she intended to sing.

Here’s her latest instagram:

In this very difficult and unclear period for all of us on this planet my thoughts and support go to all people, who suffered all effects of this Virus, for people, who infected, for many of those who lost jobs and those who forced to stay in carantine. We don’t know what happens tomorrow, but let’s be strong 💪 and use this time to make Right choices.

 

In a further reply to a fan who said he was flying in from Australia she said: ‘If I will be you- I will cancel trip… sorry.’

From her perspective it’s the right decision. There is no knowing if the Met will still be open in two weeks’ time and the risk of catching an infection in transit is too great if the end-result is not guaranteed.

For the Met, the consequences are incalculable. Others will doubtless arrive at the same conclusion.

UPDATE: The Netrebko-Eyvazov couple have posted this corrigendum beneath our headline on their Instagram feed:

Stop spreading wrong information!!!!

Excuse me? We have only posted what you yourselves made public.

A further reminder?

The Met, meanwhile, are ringing around for replacements.

Comments

  • Cynical Bystander says:

    “For the Met, the consequences are incalculable. Others will doubtless arrive at the same conclusion.”

    Surely the closure for all organisations affected by closures so far and still to come are incalculable? How long before the UK and even the US bow to the inevitable? Better to take the hopefully short term hit than jeapordise the health and worse of audiences, performers and all other workers who are liable to catch more than a proverbial cold.

    • Mr. Schwa says:

      What an awful dress!! She paid money for that??

    • Has-been says:

      I may be naive but she not say she is canceling.

    • Terry Berkeley says:

      For the world, this is a time of great sadness.

      For the world of Opera, this is a time of sadness with the loss of an incredible Art.

      Most fortunately, there are recordings, films, books, and so much more to listen and appreciate.

      Thankful for the fullness of Opera!

    • Mike Schachter says:

      It may be inevitable but that does not mean it is right. I know as it happens quite a number of people who are expert in this area, which I certainly am not and I suspect few if any commenting here are either. They are generally not convinced that this approach will work or even do more good than harm.

    • Joseph Wethington says:

      These closures are not permanent and should not be viewed as such. I have a solution. Just listen to Anna Netrebko and Elina Garanca sing the Flower Duet song. Your worries will be over.

      • Saxon Broken says:

        The Spanish flu lasted three years. Do you really think it would be sensible to shut down for three years? Especially when the Covid-19 virus is already out into the world and spreading (perhaps one-in-ten of people with it have been diagnosed). The shut-down will have very little effect on the spread.

        • Karl says:

          Not true. The 1918 flu killed fewer people in areas where they limited contact so much that they shut down schools.

  • Anne says:

    Anna Netrebko is right. This virus is unpredictable ..we know so little. At rhe same time so many people in the opera.

  • A.L. says:

    What is a carantine?

  • Dalledu Alletre says:

    “For the Met, the consequences are incalculable.”

    That’s what they get for not fostering American talent, as they should being the national company. American singers have to build their careers in Europe because that is where the early-career opportunities are. The Met instead relies for its leading roles on “names,” but even in this the company is always years late and reliant not on its own ears but on screwy agencies in London and New York. This time the leading lady lives in Vienna. Ah, well.

    • BrianB says:

      I was just thinking of that and how the Met manager Edward Johnson had to build and foster home grown talent during the mid to late 30s and during the war. As a result we got Steber, Warren, Peerce, Tucker, Harshaw, Jepson, Stevens, Munsel, Traubel, Varnay, and many others who emerged just before and during WW2 that kept opera going in America on quite a high level. In many instances higher than “international” stars can give us today.

  • Andreas B. says:

    Isn’t it possible she actually meant to write (conditional clauses can be tricky):

    ‘if I were you, I would cancel the trip’

    – meaning the Australian fan’s trip to hear her?

    A well meaning piece of advice rather than a cancellation?

    • AK says:

      Yes, the context says she definately advised her fan not to fly (the fan was going to fly just to see Anna Netrebko, so Anna recommended her to cancel the trip (because of the virus)

  • Paul Dawson says:

    I’ve little doubt that the Met will survive. However, I worry that a great many less prestigious musical operations will go under. Audience revenue is being badly hit. In addition, the impact on financial markets may make a lot of supporters less willing to dip into their wealth. Selfishly, I’m worried about my bookings for Ring cycles in Chicago next month and Brisbane in November.

  • Urs says:

    No word about withdrawal on her website!

    • AK says:

      She is not withdrawing… her written English is very bad and she was misunderstood. She meant shat she is not sure she would come to sing because flights are being cancelled and because of the quarantine (she wrote it as carantine). And the posted screen — is her wrong usage of English, that was an advice to other person not to take a flight without a good reason

      • Mike Schachter says:

        This seems to be so. She is very sensibly telling a fan not to take a long and expensive journey just to see her when the theatre may be shut and he won’t see her anyway. And may expose himself to health risk.Her English should improve!

        • Kate says:

          “Her English should improve!” ? How arrogant! I’ll bet she speaks English much better than you speak Russian. How many foreign languages do you speak?

  • Jezebel says:

    Has this been fact-checked? She has denied this information.

  • Kirsten says:

    Interestingly, she posted a screenshot of this headline along with ‘stop spreading wrong information’.
    So much for ‘inside and reliable information’. Stop posting trash.

  • David M. says:

    I truly understand La Netrebko’s decision and was expecting it. I have tickets for the April 2nd performance! I have now purchased tickets for two Netrebko Tosca performances and have yet to see her perform it.
    Aarrrggghhh!

  • Juan Carlos says:

    very well people sometimes do not understand you must take care of yourself and take care of everyone

  • Julio C Del Solar says:

    All i can say i’st :Forza europa! we stand with you

  • fflambeau says:

    She’s right.

  • sam says:

    At this point, de facto cancellations are already imposed by governments at every level.

    Truth is, no one is going anywhere.

  • Barry Guerrero says:

    Unless this thing suddenly subsides, the Met will close its doors eventually. No state or public institution wants to be the one that gets a lot of people sick and/or killed because they chose to defy strong recommendations from health experts. We’re seeing this happening already in big-money sports.

  • Anonymous says:

    If she is currently in Europe she probably won’t be allowed in to the US following Pres. Trump’s latest ruling.

  • May says:

    Hopefully she’ll take advantage of the downtime and invest in some English lessons.

  • Gustavo says:

    Wasn’t she going to kill Michael Volle 5 times?

  • Joseph Wethington says:

    Yes it’s most unfortunate for live performances. I’m very thankful for pre-recordings.Anna Netrebko is handling this situation most beautifully.

  • Peter says:

    Spasibo Anna !

    With that voice you cannot be wrong.
    By the way, she has Russian and Austrian
    dual citizenship.

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