# Anna Netrebko fired from the Met Opera **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** ukraine-invasion, music\ **Created:** [March 4, 2022, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anna-netrebko-fired-from-the-met-opera/960442 "2022-03-04T06:00:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anna-netrebko-fired-from-the-met-opera/960442/1 "2022-03-04T06:00:17Z")
Renowned Russian soprano Anna Netrebko has been [let go from the Met Opera](https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/03/entertainment/anna-netrebko-russian-soprano-metropolitan-opera-met/index.html). Not because she’s Russian, but because she’s refused to distance herself from Vladimir Putin. I’ve always been a huge fan of Netrebko, and not merely for her singing, and this dismays me. But it’s the right decision. How can she not stand against Putin? ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anna-netrebko-fired-from-the-met-opera/960442/2 "2022-03-04T06:06:26Z")
She wants to be able to live without getting poisoned? She wants to be able to go home without getting jailed? She doesn’t want her family back in Russia to be targeted? I know nothing about her but are these not possibilities? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anna-netrebko-fired-from-the-met-opera/960442/3 "2022-03-04T06:13:13Z")
> In 2014, Netrebko made a large donation to an opera house in Donetsk, a city in Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatists, according to a report by the [New York Times.](https://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/09/donation-to-ukrainian-opera-house-puts-netrebko-in-a-political-spotlight/) _ **After she made the donation, she was pictured holding a Novorossiyan flag, which is used by separatist groups.** _ Fuck her. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anna-netrebko-fired-from-the-met-opera/960442/4 "2022-03-04T06:26:48Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > She wants to be able to live without getting poisoned? She wants to be able to go home without getting jailed? She doesn’t want her family back in Russia to be targeted? That’s what this line made me think: > Netrebko had issued statements critical of the war, but has not publicly commented on Putin. Of course, she’s Russian, but is she living in Russia? Sure, Putin can poison outside of Russia, but he reserves that for the biggest names. And he’s a bit busy right now. Still, it can be hard to deprogram yourself. For example, a lot of people involved in a cult still wind up believing that their leader was a good man who didn’t know, even when all the evidence is to the contrary. I’d say it’s still enough that they left. So then, has she left Russia? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anna-netrebko-fired-from-the-met-opera/960442/5 "2022-03-04T06:38:03Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > So then, has she left Russia? She has apartments in NYC and Vienna. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anna-netrebko-fired-from-the-met-opera/960442/6 "2022-03-04T12:54:51Z")
I think @BigT means has she mentally left Russia? ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anna-netrebko-fired-from-the-met-opera/960442/7 "2022-03-04T13:13:21Z")
She’s not the only one: > **[Munich Philharmonic sacks conductor Valery Gergiev over failure to denounce...](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/mar/01/munich-philharmonic-sacks-conductor-valery-gergiev-over-failure-to-denounce-putin)** > > Move leaves classical star isolated after he was dropped by his management over his refusal to end support for ‘criminal regime’ ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anna-netrebko-fired-from-the-met-opera/960442/8 "2022-03-04T15:25:37Z")
Yeah - I got no problem with the idea that you pick your team, you incur the consequences. Not sure why any of these top-level artists would be precluded from renouncing their country of origin - even tho that might result in their needing to give up their freedom to return home and enjoy some of the benefits they undoubtedly incur from their country. I’m not a big fan of “my country/leader right or wrong.” If their art is sufficiently important to them, they can pursue it without having to declare allegiance to a reprehensible regime. If their nationality is sufficiently important, well, Russia is a big country. I’m sure there are plenty of venues to sing and conduct at. Unfortunate that they have to make a choice and can’t just have the best of both worlds, but at least they are fortunate WRT their ability to make such a choice (unlike your average Joe in Ukraine, Russia, or even US), and the relatively preferred position they will enjoy no matter which choice they make. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anna-netrebko-fired-from-the-met-opera/960442/9 "2022-03-04T15:29:42Z")
It needs to be said: sometimes, “cancel culture” is a beautiful, moral, laudable, and perfectly appropriate thing. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anna-netrebko-fired-from-the-met-opera/960442/10 "2022-03-04T15:34:34Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I’m not a big fan of “my country/leader right or wrong.” I"ve always preferred Senator Schurz’s variant: > [@](#): > > “My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.” ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anna-netrebko-fired-from-the-met-opera/960442/11 "2022-03-04T16:30:46Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > She’s not the only one: > > [Munich Philharmonic sacks conductor Valery Gergiev over failure to denounce Putin | Classical music | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/mar/01/munich-philharmonic-sacks-conductor-valery-gergiev-over-failure-to-denounce-putin) Yeah, he got his ass canned. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/cyhLoz9dagQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Music Chat: Artists Really DON'T Matter, or, Gergiev's Ass Gets Canned") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyhLoz9dagQ) ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anna-netrebko-fired-from-the-met-opera/960442/12 "2022-03-04T16:33:04Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > She wants to be able to live without getting poisoned? She wants to be able to go home without getting jailed? Yep! 😳 ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anna-netrebko-fired-from-the-met-opera/960442/13 "2022-03-04T18:48:35Z")
Not a cafe society thing, but in a similar vein: What are the Capitals going to do with Ovechkin? He’s their best player but an outspoken supporter of Putin. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anna-netrebko-fired-from-the-met-opera/960442/14 "2022-03-04T18:59:56Z")
Thread over in the Game Room: > [@Ovechkin: Supporter of Team Putin](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ovechkin-supporter-of-team-putin/960163): > > Until Team Putin invades another country, and then “I’m not in politics, I’m an athlete.” Strange how Ovechkin, the non-political-athlete, started a social movement to support Putin, announcing it on his Instagram account on November 2, 2017: But now that Team Putin is invading a neighbouring country, killing soldiers and endangering civilians, “I’m not in politics, I’m an athlete.” Sanctions for the Washington Caps until they get rid of their “just-an-athlete-who-supports-Team-Putin”? (We have to be careful to keep high culture thread topics separate from bruising physical low-brow activities. {{cultured shudder}}