Yusif Eyvazov returns to Moscow
OperaThe Azerbaijani tenor had a noted triumph in a Moscow pop concert this week. He also collected a lot of gifts on stage.
Anna Netrebko’s husband is apparently repairing bridges with the motherland.
Like his wife, he has been banned from the Met since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
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I just lost my dinner…
Not sure he’s actually been banned for the Met – certainly SHOULD be – but still listed for Tosca. Not sure what “bridges” he needs to “repair” since he’s always been a Putin enthusiast not to mention a genocidal anti-Armenian racist who incites war crimes (see his social media)
Do you have direct link to his racist post?
Do your own homework, Tsquare07. That Eyvazov is an anti-Armenian genocidal racist has been documented so many times by so many people it’s beyond question.
His most bloodthirsty posts on Facebook, Instagram etc. have been removed but this should give you some idea of where he’s coming from: https://anmmedia.am/en/news/evgeniy-kissins-answer-to-yousif-aivazov-on-artsakh-war/354. Additionally his refusal to appear with an Armenian soprano in a concert has been widely reported and condemned.
he has not been banned by the met – he is currently scheduled to sing a number of cavaradossis opposite both monastryska and gheorghiu next april – i don’t think that it will happen but it is still listed on the met website; it is true that he has not sung at the met since the beginning of the ukranian war; gelb’s foreign policy re singers from the former soviet union is wildly inconsistent; i thought that the met gm’s casting policies being influenced by his wife ended when gatti divorced frances alda more than a century ago
Frankly the Met could do with far fewer Russian singers irregardless of current politics – we have been literally BOMBARDED with a few good ones and many mediocrities since the Gergiev days at the expense of more talented German and other West European singers who rarely appear or have yet to. Certainly the talent from Poland is also at a far higher level.
They have never severed ties with Russia. After an initial moment of panic and chaos – when Anna lost contracts and Russia started blocking social media and such – everything returned to normal. The Netrebkos kept in touch with their russian friends – and celebrities – like singer Kirkorov and photographer Shirokov (and these were not at all afraid to correspond publicly with alleged renegades), then spent vacations with Natalia Malinova (of VTB bank) and her family, and Timur Weinstein (general producer of russian network NTV, listed as one chief propogadists on “Putin’s List”) and his wife Jana Batyrshina, ex-champion gymnast (teammate of Alina Kabaeva). Anna’s sister, Natalia (who lives in Danemark) had no problem spending the autumn in Krasnogrod, taking care of the family estate.
This famous statement by Anna condemning the war (but no the russian government) was undoubtedly agreed with the Kremlin. Thanks to it’s careful wording she got back her career in the West and did not close her way back to russia.
It is grotesque that Western governments on the one hand support Ukraine, introduce sanctions against russia and on the other hand pay (because opera theaters are subsidized by the state) Russian singers like Netrebko and Abdrazakov, members of putin’s elite.
Do we really care about this 3rd rate tenor?
You have him ranked as high as 3rd-rate?
Yusif Eyvazov withdrew from La Boheme at the Met in May 2022 claiming illness. He was not fired. He is still scheduled for Tosca at the Met in April 2023. Peter Gelb may be reluctant to fire Eyvazov because Anna Netrebko is currently suing the Met for $350,000 for breaking her contract. She is represented by the American Guild of Musical Artists, which filed a labor grievance against the Met.
Eyvazov was in Moscow for a concert with a Ukrainian pop star, Kirill Turichenko which had been postponed from 2021. Google is a great resource.
Yes, that concert was twice postponed, because of war. So what? what’s you point?
$350,000 is a small price to pay to preserve your good conscience.
Tiredofitall, the Met musicians might not agree that Peter Gelb has a good conscience.
Agreed about his lack of conscience (or empathy or humanity in general, with Ukraine being the sole exception) but on the topic of the war and his dismissal of certain pro-Putin musicians, I speak confidently, I believe, for the majority.
Apparently, a large segment of the public supports Anna Netrebko because her concerts and opera appearances have been sold out or almost sold out. Let people decide the democratic way by voting with their Euros or dollars. We haven’t had the opportunity in North America, but Europe and South America, and soon Hong Kong, have welcomed Anna Netrebko while also supporting Ukraine.