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Anna Netrebko to sing at Palm Beach Opera gala in first US appearance since 2019

FILE - Soprano Anna Netrebko attends a news conference on the premiere of Manon Lescaut in the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, Russia on Oct. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File) (Alexander Zemlianichenko, Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Soprano Anna Netrebko is scheduled to give a recital at the Palm Beach Opera for its gala on Feb. 3 in what would be her first U.S. appearance in six years.

Considered the worldā€™s top soprano, Netrebko was dropped by the Metropolitan Opera in 2022 after she refused a demand by Met general manager Peter Gelb that she repudiate Russia President President Vladimir Putin following Russiaā€™s invasion of Ukraine. She has sued the Met, alleging defamation and breach of contract in a case that is pending.

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ā€œArts organizations should not be involved in politics,ā€ Palm Beach Opera general director James Barbato said in a telephone interview Wednesday. ā€œIn our opinion our mission is to connect people to explore what's universal in our humanity and Anna Netrebko has clearly and unequivocally spoken out in opposition to the war in Ukraine and distanced herself from the Russian government at great personal cost.ā€

Netrebko has appeared in the past two years at major houses including the Vienna State Opera, Paris OpĆ©ra, Milanā€™s Teatro alla Scala and Berlinā€™s Staatsoper unter den Linden but had not been engaged in the U.S. or by The Royal Opera in London. She last appeared at the Met in 2019 in Verdiā€™s ā€œMacbethā€ and a New Year's Eve gala.

Netrebko will perform with pianist Ɓngel Rodrƭguez at the The Breakers hotel.

ā€œI am honored to be lending my voice to the Palm Beach Operaā€™s annual gala,ā€ Netrebko said in a statement Wednesday sent to The Associated Press.

Barbato said he began discussions with Netrebko's manager in January.

ā€œIt was, a rare opportunity to present, an electrifying performer with one of the most beautiful voices of our lifetimes,ā€ he said.

Palm Beach Operaā€™s season includes three performances each of Gounod's "RomĆ©o et Juliette" in January, Verdiā€™s ā€œLa Traviataā€ in February and Mozartā€™s ā€œLe Nozze di Figaroā€ in April. Casts have not been announced.

Past Palm Beach Opera galas featured Luciano Pavarotti, PlƔcido Domingo, JosƩ Carreras, RenƩe Fleming and Bryn Terfel, with Isabel Leonard (2024), Piotr Beczala (2023) and Nadine Sierra (2022) appearing in recent years.

ā€œIt means a lot to me to be joining the remarkable list of illustrious singers that have participated in this celebration over the last decades,ā€ Netrebko said.


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