Breaking: Anna Netrebko is in hospital with Covid pneumonia
mainRussian state television has confirmed that the soprano caught Covid while singing at the Bolshoi and has been hospitalised. She had posted news of her condition on Instagram.
She posted at the weekend that she had tested negative.
Here’s the RT report:
Renowned Russian opera singer Anna Netrebko has been hospitalized with pneumonia caused by coronavirus. The star confirmed the news in a Thursday morning Instagram post, maintaining that “she will be fine.”<
“It is five days since I have been hospitalized with Covid-19 pneumonia,” Netrebko wrote in her post, adding that she previously decided to continue her work instead of “just sitting at home in fear of contracting the illness” and “regrets nothing.”
Her husband Yusif Eyvazov reportedly has antibodies.
I’ve always liked Anna, but she doesn’t get a pass on this one. “…regrets nothing” is a slap in the face to her worldwide audience that sometimes look to celebrities for guidance. (Lord knows why.)
She could have practiced all the proven protocols (a mask, social distancing, etc.) not only for herself, but to provide an example for others. If you’ve got a pulpit, albeit limited in the case of opera, you have a responsibility. Use it for good, not just for self-promotion.
I hope Anna’s recovery proceeds well and that she has no after-effects. I also hope her colleagues avoid the same fate (although that already seems not to be the case).
The New York Times quotes Netrebko as saying: “Everything will be fine! The devil is not so terrible as it is described.” The latter sentence is troubling. Her dismissal of the potential seriousness of the virus shows a certain indifference, if not arrogance, to the reality of world death toll and the lingering effects that many experience. She may be “fine” today but she should recognize that we know very little about the lingering effects. Long may she belt her creamy legato but she should watch her words.
I have never understood how people can think that their experience defines everyone else’s. “I didn’t die from it, therefore you don’t have to worry.” (…with the implication that if you do worry, you’re a wimp) Especially when it clearly isn’t true.
I know it’s extremely common (and we see it on this site all the time), but I don’t understand it.
You don’t see any wealthy individual or some group saying they are willing to financially support support others in order to keep them in their home and feed them do you???
THAT’S THE POINT!
A lot of people have already fallen into homelessness or are close to it with every passing day with no work on. You people on the left don’t seem to be competent enough to grasp this. All you can do is act offended, arrogant and be sarcastic just like uneducated kids.
Commenters on this site and elsewhere critical of those wanting to support themselves are always too poor and lacking in self respect to take seriously.
Those criticizing people like Anna always look down on others who work no matter their level of success as opposed to folks easily taking a government check every month.
When is the last time any of you ever stopped complaining and handed someone some money to get by??? My guess is ZERO!
Get back under your bridge and wait for the next billygoat.
“I have never understood how people can think that their experience defines everyone else’s.” -Bruce
Liberals pull this constantly which is why they are so angry like children with various cognitive deficiencies.
The more violent they are, the more Trump supporters feel the most anathema emotion for a Lib…CONFIDENT!
I wish people would stop the hysteria and fear mongering. The overwhelming majority of people who get covid recover with no serious effects. It’s 2-4 times more deadly than the flu, but only 0.1 % of flu cases are fatal. Do we shut down society for that?
All the same, I’m glad I haven’t got it!!
Plenty of people are hiding from the world, convinced they are going to die, what a way to live.
How come Sweden now has one of the lowest case rates in Europe far lower than Spain, France and Italy, and they did not impose lockdown?
Swedes are cleaner and more socially distant than greecy Ities and scruffy Englishmen.
Silly comment. Sweden is boring and expensive, it does not get as many tourists as Italy, France and Spain, hence lower cov-19.
Once again a typical Karl comment!
Well, I’m since five weeks in the biggest hospital of my hometown. I came in because the suspicion of Covid-19 and indeed, there are antibodies in me. However, I’ve survived – but this doesn’t support your opinion. Just on the contrary. My lung got a few scars and doesn’t work properly anymore. In the moment I sit on my hospital bed with an oxygen nasal cannula and two metres opposite of my bed stands the oxygen machine I’ll take home with me because its highly possible that I can’t live without it anymore.
Nevertheless I belong to the lucky people: In the Stuttgart Klinikum around two dozen people died because of Covid-19. So please stopp talking bs about the sickness! It’s dangerous, people feel absolutely lousy with it and in the moment no one can say how bad the people will be which survive.
(PSThe oh-so-lovely pics of me with my oxygen cannula are on my twitter account SLBinder2)
Best wishes to you!
Gute Besserung!
And don’t worry Karl, you can’t get it from “flirting”, which you are such a huge defender of. Unless that’s how Domingo caught it…
Watching all of the BLM/ANTIFA rioters under the guise of “peaceful protesters” is what’s given people the firm idea that the rioters total disregard of “science and facts” makes their argument for going on about daily life on one’s own terms.
Not arresting rioters from the beginning for violating the precious protocols of 6 foot social distancing and mask rules created this confusion amongst law abiding citizens.
Seeing masses of people (mostly donning unfashionable black versions of KKK costumes) packed together, constantly touching each other as they sweat along with those they assault or beat, and spitting on others makes Democrats look willing to allow the reckless endangerment of others.
Meanwhile those not protesting conducting daily activities are shamed, fined and worse if some loony lib sees them simply not wearing a mask from a distance. Glad folks are fighting back against libs either with their fists or steel. Everyone is fed up with their whining and we don’t care about your constant antagonism and violence any longer. Lots of people own legal firearms, etc and will use them when lefties assault us.
Anna has my best wishes and support since she did not stop living her life out of fear. She’ll get better too like a lot of healthy people who get sick.
She sets a better example than the rioters/criminals who are constantly spreading COVID-19 amongst themselves and those they assault and loot. That’s the reason for spikes where protesters are and they should ALL be jailed for reckless endangerment using COVID-19 as a weapon!
Bravo. The rot set in like a malignancy when that Pelosi woman tore up the State of the Union Address earlier this year – in front of the whole world. That was the biggest temper tantrum I’ve ever seen from a supposed adult who calls another leader ‘childish’.
The Left needs to stop projecting and get back to their core job of protecting the American working class, rather than the whining Woking classes.
Linda, better take a moment to wipe your fevered brow after that rant. Whew!
Thanks for saying what many people are saying but too afraid of the consequences to come out.
Except the spikes in the US were not correlated with the protests. So try again.
Herman Cain, however? Oops.
Rational, educated people don’t look to celebrities for guidance.
That’s one of many reasons why Hillary Clinton failed her party and we have a successful president who just brokered a Middle East peace deal.
Successful president? If you call successful exploiting our nature, promoting white supremacy, arousing hatred, taking the loss of 100.000 and more people by denying the danger of COVID-19, but still having the chance being president for 4 more years though telling lies on and on and though thinking Austrians live in the woods with trees which are not as explosive than trees in the States, you are right!
We understand from your name and comment you are a loyal conservative; however, I d like to draw your attention that it s just a business deal that had been signed this week, for the simple reason that the two countries that signed that deal had never been at war , therefore they had no logical reason to sign a peace deal.
What it has to do with opera world I don ‘t know except the stand of different people or leaders towards Covid, and we all saw the stunning numbers in US. Well, succesfull is not a word I would use
No, no, it’s an important peace deal, right up there with New Zealand agreeing never to attack Iceland!
Jews are celebrating this much to your chagrin.
You should be so grateful Trump did what Biden, Hillary and Obama only “talked about” passively over their entire lifetimes with more countries following suit.
Your jealousy is troubling as you clearly believe all white people deserve to be hated.
Further, you’re not a person who respects law and order and neither are your klan.
Just as well now that Ruth Bader Ginsberg has died. A woman of substance by the way who believed in her fellow citizens and the cornerstones of the law.
Rational educated people believe in science and facts.
Trump’s leadership in bigotism and denial of facts and science are unparalleled. His lack of leadership with the pandemic are undoubtedly an important factor in the high ratio of mortality: 60.14 deaths per 100,000, while neighboring Canada has 24.94.
Though a positive development, the Israel-UAE agreement is no peace breakthrough. It formalizes developments that preceded Trump and Jared Kushner. “Israel and the UAE have been inching toward normalization in recent years. In 2015, Israel opened a diplomatic office in the Emirati capital of Abu Dhabi tied to the International Renewable Energy Agency” https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/whats-behind-new-israel-uae-peace-deal
Rational and educated people are following COVID-19 protocols and not wantonly SPREADING it be they rioters or otherwise. Folks dressed in black with nothing better to do are flouting pandemic protocols everyone else is expected to adhere to as they endanger, beat and steal. Glad they’re getting themselves SICK!!!!!
Further, President Trump has gotten more done including the Middle East peace deals (of which more are in progress) than Obama, Hillary and Biden COMBINED!
– For those ready to downvote because you know I’m right, simply name 10 or only 5 achievements any one of the 3 Dems I cited over their LONG political careers without googling… This should be rich!!
Everyone is tired of the left getting offended over every little thing especially now as we’ve been beset with the Chinese Disease and so many can’t work and are losing their homes. Dems have made things worse with failing to commit to Stimulus 2 back in August. Not everyone wants to see homelessness and suicides rise like the Left enjoys.
There are no Middle East Peace deals.
The deals brokered are military alliances against Iran basically. More to come, and more military equipment being sold there, unfortunately.
An explosive tinder box, made more explosive. Not sure you really understand what is happening in that region and the deeply destructive role of the US there, for decades.
Are you a “Death to America” Palestinian Tamino?
Those on the other side of the WALL Israel erected separating East Palestine (that inspired the one Trump is putting up to border Mexico) are the usual radical extremists who get violent about this.
Glad Israel protected their people with that wall!
Where do you get your news my friend? I can’t relate your facts with those I read, and I consult news sources from from more than one country and language.
The leftists you are describing must be really awful and stupid people. Luckily, I only come across them in right wing rants – all the time! In the real world, here in the US, liberals are totally different, much nicer, more down to earth and compassionate.
Tant pis.
Get well soon, Anna!
I would recommend reading this comprehensive editorial article by Nick Wilson in BMJ. It covers aerosol transmission. The larynx is significant in its transmission.
https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/370/bmj.m3206.full.pdf
The ejits do not read medical journals.
Covid attacks, first and foremost, the lungs.
The long term effects are debilitating, if you survive the short term ones.
If there’s a virus that opera singers would not want to fuck with, that’s a virus that attacks the very engine of their sound system.
Was it worth it for one opera? The loss in time and future performances while hospitalized, while recovering, while rehabilitating the lungs, while getting a lung transplant, while retraining your new lungs.
I will make a prediction here and now: Ms. Netrebko will never, ever, sound the same from this point on.
Aye, you may well be right. Covid-19 can lead to severe pulmonary events. The larynx has now been shown to play a key part in its aetiology. I fear the bonnie wee lassie may never sing quite the same way again if this occurs.
See this editorial article by Nick Wilson in BMJ on aerosol transmission.
https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/370/bmj.m3206.full.pdf
um yeah, the cdc already retracted the aerosol thing.
that and since when does the body not heal? lol, that is psychosomatic. bones heal, lungs heal. that lady who had a severe stroke and was like a 5 year old, healed. a friend had nasty shingles for a year, he is out biking and running now. healed. heart surgeries heal. the body repairs itself.
Anything would be an improvement …
Meaning what exactly?
Here I am – in hospital recuperating from Covid-19, but with scars on my lung which make it highly possible that I’ll need an oxygen cannula for the rest of my life.
The fact that she lied about her status over the weekend when she was in fact in the hospital shows that she regretted it.
It is also highly unethical to lie about it, I hope she at least told the doctors and they traced her contacts, because it conveys to the public a false impression of safety and normalcy.
People can’t stay shut in with no income forever.
What’s your solution sam?
There are many performing artists working right now all over Europe. They aren’t staying shut in and they aren’t getting sick because they are following the guidelines- masks when not performing, social distancing, frequent testing, etc. Netrebko flaunted these guidelines all summer. It seems she thought there were only two options – live her life exactly as she always had or become a shut in. She couldn’t or wouldn’t consider that she could still work and live her life, but with some careful changes to make herself and her family safer. And now she’s in the hospital and some other singer who has been following the guidelines will pick up the work she’s had to cancel.
But Covid-19 is a very dangerous illness. I’m a free lancing author and in the moment I’m rather poor because of the Corona crisis. However, I live – and I’m pretty sure that Anna has in the past gotten much more money than me.
To save for times you can’t work is part of every freelancer’s life. If Anna didn’t manage it wouldn’t be an apology for playing around with a deadly virus.
You really think she “needed” to sing? She’s a multimillionaire. She couldn’t bear to not be in the limelight, that’s why she went back to work. A quality human would have set an example, since ultimately it’s the lower rung artists and workers who will bear the worst the longer this goes on. She’s a dumb selfish attention whore.
Whether she lied or not is not a fact. Tests have a margin of error.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/which-test-is-best-for-covid-19-2020081020734
Is she frequently looking at Fox News, where a certain person is hostile to science and facts?
It seems contagious to people of all sorts in the U.S. as well as in the country where she was born and raised.
Silly ‘girl’ !
Hopefully she sang for Pelosi.
Remember her “come to Chinatown” rhetoric just to spite Trump. What a clown woman she is!!
With any luck, she’ll notice symptoms after her infamous “special” hair salon visit while everyone else was still legally closed. The salon went out of business due to her insufferable ego and lack of wearing a mask as she pushes on others.
Pelosi comes across as a crone. She is a major swamp-dweller. You’ve simply GOT to be BETTER than your opponents if you want to win public support. Clearly this woman isn’t.
A “crone”? Why not a “hag”? These are terms I’d expect from Neanderthal MAN, not from a fellow woman—unless of course you’ve been a Boy Named Sue all along. Please set the record straight.
If you are from down under why bother commenting on the yanks. Daft place, leave well alone.
Fortunately it’s contagious enough to be running rampant through mobs like BLM and antifa.
Big illness spikes among those mental midgets..LOL!!
Herman Cain would beg to differ. And the protests did not correlate with the spikes. Reopening too soon did, however.
But don’t let facts dissuade you from your narratives.
Protesters are doing a fantastic job of spreading it amongst themselves. It is they who aren’t social distancing, always wearing masks, touching or stealing everything they and and fighting with anyone they hate. They trash everything they touch and certainly aren’t washing their hands every couple of hours.
If after 7-8 months of this pandemic you still believe that published numbers and the way they are often (mis)interpreted are “facts”, you haven’t been paying attention.
Yes, but what happened in scientific, enlightened Europe-not to mention Israel.
Europe’s weekly coronavirus cases pass March peak
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/europes-weekly-coronavirus-cases-pass-march-peak/ar-BB199t2G?li=BBnb7Kz
This is what happens when one tests negative over there. As my grandmother used to say, Never believe anything that has not been officially denied by the Russians.
I wonder if she got the Russian Vaccine after it was announced about a month ago??
Now that you mention it, where is the vaccine China has produced as the virus originated in Wuhan?
Trump was saying he would have one before the election while a science advisor was simultaneously saying “maybe” by late Q2 or Q3 next year. Who do you believe?
Another Covid-19 “non-believer”. And with a child needing constant care and loving. I can only hope this doesn’t affect her vocal qualities in the future.
Cute comment.
A better one is asking what China is DOING on behalf of the planet to atone for and solve a pandemic originating from their country!
Where are the news reports of profuse sympathy and apologies from President Xi Jinping and the Chinese government to each of the countries they are responsible for infecting with COVID-19???
What’s been happening in Wuhan and the surrounding provinces since they are ground zero?
What progress has been made to formulate a vaccine?
How will China reimburse each country for inflicting this virus in terms of deaths, illnesses, medical equipment, additional health precautions at every level of society?
These rudimentary questions require answers out of China, not Trump as the US is but another victim.
Didn’t we just see photos on this website of Netrebko and her husband working out and proclaiming every thing was right as rain?
Dear Norman
It’s been a long time coming but after reading the comments above I swore to myself never to read your blog again. I am a classical musician working in the UK and I admit I’ve been checking this site regularly, mainly to find out about some interesting appointments, be it a conductor or an orchestral leader. But recently it’s sharply moved towards the Daily Mail style. All about cheap sensationalism, looking to stir people’s emotions and set them off by going at each other with sarcasm, cynicism, “the lefties”, “the righties”, “the wokes” etc. etc. I was shocked to read the comments (you are the one moderating the comments, correct?) under your initial entry about Dalia Stasevska, personally attacking her without actually checking any facts about whether she was in any way involved in the infamous programming. Sure, this is your blog so do whatever you want with it. But someone who calls himself “a historian, cultural commentator, broadcaster and award-winning novelist” should know better, and should set himself and those around him slightly higher standards than Rupert Murdoch. Have a good day!
Part of the job of a polemicist is to provoke debate. One of the joys of different points of view is the chance to test one’s own beliefs.
Provoking debate with well founded arguments is good. Provoking debate by casting aspersions is another matter. We see both here, and everything in between.
Unless you plan to live under a rock you’re going to have a hard time avoiding sensationalism. Do some googling and you will discover the whole shocking story!
We don’t like all of the hatred directed against either the right or President Trump but sarcasm is all the “truth or facts” those on the left rely on to compensate for both the failed Democrat policies corroding America and Obama’s lack of character.
Then there’s Hillary’s narcissism…
Trump’s win defied the fragile BUBBLE Dems live in. Election night 2016 was immensely shocking to them and their arrogant “experts” asserting some landslide victory for Hillary. As she lost and gave her concession speech, her supporters expressed their disappointment in the form of neurotic hate and violence.
“Educated” people don’t do that. They intellectualize what happens, face facts and exhibit self-control.
Hence the weak narrative of “college educated” whomever they insert doesn’t make sense. Both Hillary and Michelle Obama even called out their own WOMEN for FAILING TO VOTE! The DNC even needed Hillary’s money from the now failed Clinton Foundation to prop it up by her own statements since they didn’t know how to manage their party’s money.
No doubt commenters shall criticize Trump and his vast supporting base after they read this in order to embolden themselves. They can’t even name a handful of Hillary’s accomplishments so they lash out like greedy children. That’s all they can do. Whine.
Enjoy his second term folks! Those on the left engaging in 24/7 hate and violence not only turn off his supporters, many on the left are turning away from you in droves.
Good day!
Nowhere in her statement shown here does Anna Netrebko say that everyone else should behave the way she did or does. She simply describes her own experience and evaluates her own choices. She may be mistaken or not, but it is her own life and she has the right to live it her way. She has no obligation toward any of us to keep performing for as long as some of us might want her to, just as we have no obligation to listen to her or to buy tickets for her performances. We should learn to stop judging other people for their personal choices in their own lives. If we are foolish enough to look up to celebrities for moral guidance, it is our problem and our fault.
If even Boris and Bolzo have survived why care at all about COVID?
It’s a wonderful survival-of-the-fittest game and a chance to change this world.
Just imagine a world full of egocentric little Netrebkos!
Domingo also survived covid. Unless you are very old, obese, or have serious health problems you have very little to worry about from covid.
Tired of Netrebko and her poor attitude. I wish her good health, but she could be more careful with what she says in general (toward homosexuals, the Me Too movement- who knows what else). I don’t care how well she sings, how beautiful she is, how famous she is- I’m sick of it. There are more important things in the world right now.