Israel welcomes Netrebko pair
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We couldn’t possibly.
It’s the next rung down into moral hell.
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Entirely unsurprising. Israel is becoming more and more a moral cesspit.
Antisemitism at its finest.
True. A decade or more of Bibi have eroded the moral compass of Israeli society.
and who is responsible for this?
Not a word about this in the Israeli press, nor on the Israeli Ticketmaster site.
What happened to “never again”? Isn’t their silence “standing idly by” war crimes?
Sadly, it’s a generational issue–people do forget–and the world is doomed to repeat atrocities. In the meantime, hapless politicians offer empty condolences.
Netrebko is a war criminal? Really?
I am old enough to remember 1967 when the vast majority of the US, and probably the rest of the free world, supported Israel and their fight for existence. Although no one event changed my thinking when the Israeli army stood by and allowed Lebanese soldiers to slaughter unarmed Palestinians it caused many to doubt the ideal of Israel as the last refuge from tyranny. I’m well aware that balancing the need to ensure one’s survival with living the lessons of the Holocaust can be complex but it should be an ever present reminder to behave humanely.
It’s complicated.
Israel can’t get on Russia’s bad side because Russia is in Syria and the wealthiest oligarchs are Jews.
I think most people here were discussing morality, not political or commercial convenience. By that argument you can justify the big western companies that stayed in business with Nazi Germany.
I *am* talking morality. Morality is relative to political and commercial realities.
What good to pissing Russia off if Russia facilitates rockets being launched from Syria, Lebanon, Iran into Israel killing your own citizens, or if Russia retaliates against Jews in its own country the first of whom would be the most prominent oligarchs?
So what if the price to pay is to invite Netrebko and Mr. Netrebko?
I doubt Putin is going to bomb Israel if they don’t invite AN. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, chet. Don’t give the SD readers reason to believe you more nuts than Putin.
Why did they have to be invited at all? Nobody is surely suggesting that countries that do not invite them are in some way dissing Russia.
Inviting them, however, lines up the company or country with the notion that her public utterances throughout her career don’t matter.
If that’s the case, why won’t they play Wagner?
Why is this more disturbing than her concert in Monte Carlo on April 22nd?
Because Monte Carlo has always been known as a tax haven and a destination devoid of moral compunction. Israel was supposed to be nothing less than a beacon for the persecuted.
Because it was just Monte Carlo…
OK, just as long as they don’t do any Wagner.
Thanks Norman, as if Israel needs yet another bashing.
For whatever reason, she is still in demand and the bleating tenor of a husband is part of the package. She can still put butts in seats, so don’t be surprised that the doors are opening. Whether or not she sings in a particular country will not discourage Putin from doing his murderous deeds. For many Ukraine is old old news already. The West cannot really get involved except for a few sanctions and Johnny Depp/Amber Heard trail has been getting way more coverage lately.
If she is the only one who can put bums in seats, the opera business is in a more desperate situation that I thought it possible. But somehow I don’t think the situation is _that_ desperate. Fans like to believe she is the one and only, but opera house managers are a different species. Methinks quite a bit of money is changing various hands to make the current ‘miracle’ happen.
The Met is still there sans AN, and a better place for it. Now it they could rid themselves of a few other performers who aren’t up to standards, it would be even better.
Dear Guest, I applaud your optimism, but the situation IS that desperate. In one of your previous posts you suggested conducting a blind test to see if Netrebko can be recognized by her voice. she probably cannot, unless one listens for consistent flaws, and there are plenty. I listen to SiriusXM, the Met channel daily. Usually, I need a couple of notes or phrases to identify the singer and 9/10 times i am correct.
Tucker, Pavarotti, Corelli, Vickers,Warren, Tebaldi, Sutherland, Callas, Caballe etc. are instantly identifiable. Nobody who is into opera would confuse Milanov with Price. Can you name a singer in the last 10-15 years that has this kind of vocal signature?
Most sound so generic, that it doesn’t really matter who is singing the part. So, what is left is a name and the name helps to fill the seats. if the singer finishes an aria, they get an ovation regardless of quality. If they don’t hit the notes, they are applauded for trying. Yes, the MET is still there sans AN, but have you listened to the live broadcasts recently? The decline is there in plain earshot
The blind test, te he. None of the devoted fans (or trolls?) dared to take it, while screaming lustily about AN’s superiority, in, well, just everything 😉 No, I can’t name any singer of the 21st century who has the kind of vocal signature comparable to those you named, if we are talking just vocal timbre. If we are talking deficiencies, I might.
‘Most sound so generic, that it doesn’t really matter who is singing the part. So, what is left is a name and the name helps to fill the seats.’
I can’t disagree with this. But is AN the only ‘name’? AN is a creature of the media (as are others.) The media made her, it would be easily for the media to drop her, particularly because the physical assets for which she was selected in the past are mostly gone, as is her lyrical voice. I am not trying to be nasty, I am just being plainspoken. I believe this is what she is afraid of, that the media would drop her. I don’t believe for a moment the houses can’t do without her. What I believe (and I am honest enough to admit it’s just my speculation), is that money is changing hands to make the present ‘miracle’ happen. The ones taking the money are the Italians and Germans, both countries where state subsidies were cut back. My bet is Austrians will follow. We all know Putin has pumped an indecent amount of money to support Russian performers and Russian institutions in the West in the last two decades. Just imagine what a Western tour for the flagship Russian ballet companies does cost – 60 to 80 dancers plus orchestra plus the rent of the venue plus sets plus costumes plus a small army of busybodies who always manage to attach themselves to subsidized tours. And they used to tour expensive cities – London, New York, Tokyo – where accommodations are anything but cheap. Compared to this, what’s a little ‘donation’ so AN would be ‘invited’ back? What’s a bit of funds to support the trolls? Some of them are so omnipresent I wonder they don’t sleep on the floor of the SD comment section 😉
The perversity of this time and age is that just about anyone can put bums in seats, provided he or she is heavily promoted, looks passable at the time of promotion, and is prepared to take to his or her clothes off on stage. If she’s a woman, a boob job is helpful but not mandatory; a brassy, exhibitionist behavior is mandatory because ‘confident’ and ’empowered’. If a man, he doesn’t have to stuff his pants – yet – but soft-spoken is a big asset – he’ll come across as ‘thoughtful’ and ‘humble.’ In other words, we expect the very same behavior but from the opposite sex (and if possible from the opposite skin color), and call this progress. Fits in very well with the rest – the inversion formula is applied everywhere in arts.
This “event” falls in to the double-edged category for me.
Literally, a double-edged sword is a sword that has two sharpened edges. Figuratively, double-edged sword refers to something that has both good and bad consequences. When you’re wielding a double-edged sword, you have to be careful that you don’t cut yourself when you’re trying to swing it at an opponent.
But you SHOULD comment, Norman! Anything else is equivalent to operating under a gag order!!
Yes, welcoming the Putin Pals fits well with the Israeli government’s awfully cavalier attitude towards invasion and slaughter by Russia (known for its pogroms in Odessa in the 19th century and at other times) in the Ukraine. Looks like Israel is just another gutless wonder on the political hack circuit. I’d adjust international funding accordingly.
You neglected to add the ticket buying link.