In Switzerland, the concert of opera singer Anna Netrebko was canceled

In Switzerland canceled concert of Russian opera singer Anna Netrebko, which was supposed to take place on June 1 in Lucerne. The management of the concert hall – the Lucerne Culture and Congress Center – said that the reason for the cancellation was Netrebko’s controversial position regarding the war in Ukraine and her alleged closeness to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Municipal authorities suggested that Netrebko’s appearance on stage could provoke protests in the city.

Member of the Lucerne government council Armin Hartmann said in an interview with Regionaljournal Zentralschweiz: “The government is clear that a Russian artist supposedly loyal to the regime should not perform here.” The government of the canton of Lucerne asked the concert hall to reconsider its program.

Another reason for canceling the concerts was the conference on the situation in Ukraine, which is to be held in Lucerne in June. The municipality fears that a simultaneous speech by Netrebko and an event dedicated to the war could cause unrest.

Anna Netrebko and her management issued a statement in which they expressed regret about the cancellation of the concert and indicatedthat the peace conference on Ukraine will take place a full two weeks after the date of the concert. In addition, they wrote, none of Netrebko’s nearly hundred speeches since March 2022 allegedly led to violations of public order.

The last statement is not true. Netrebko’s speeches in Western countries are often accompanied by street protests by activists supporting Ukraine. In a number of cases, concerts have been canceled due to protests. In particular, in February 2023 Netrebko did not perform in Taiwan, In August, a concert in Prague was cancelled. Immediately after the start of Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, the New York Metropolitan Opera terminated its contract with Netrebko because she did not comply with the requirement to renounce public support for Russian aggression. In a statement from the theater it was saidthat the contract will not be renewed until Russia stops the war and compensates Ukraine for the damage caused.

• People’s Artist of Russia, opera singer Anna Netrebko is one of the most sought-after sopranos in the world. She lives in Vienna, where she is the leading soloist of the Vienna Opera. In Russia, Netrebko was registered in 2012 as a confidant of Vladimir Putin in his election campaign. After 2014, she supported the annexation of Crimea and the separatist movement of Donbass. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, Netrebko stated that she condemned the war, but remained a patriot of Russia and its culture.