"The opera is about individuals caught up in the brutal mundanity of the machinery and power of a repressive state. Playing Tosca is the great diva Anna Netrebko, now an Austrian citizen but born Russian, and described in The Times as a symbol of cultural propaganda for the Russian regime'. The singer has criticised the war without attacking Putin personally. For individual artists caught up in this geopolitical nightmare the pressures are clearly immense."
"Netrebko's omission has led to a letter demanding her withdrawal from the role written by a cross-party group of MPs and more than 50 Ukrainian artists. After the recent furore when a performer unfurled a Palestinian flag during a curtain call, with Mears involved in an onstage scuffle, this was not the publicity a state-funded institution needs. With recent Russian incursions into a NATO country, Netrebko's casting, whilst creatively and musically exciting, was politically naive."
A new Royal Opera production of Puccini's Tosca is led by Oliver Mears and conductor Jakub Hrusa. Demonstrators appeared outside on opening night with placards and megaphones. The opera portrays individuals trapped by the machinery and power of a repressive state. The role of Tosca is sung by Anna Netrebko, an Austrian citizen born in Russia and described in The Times as a symbol of cultural propaganda for the Russian regime. Netrebko criticised the war without attacking Putin personally. A cross-party group of MPs and over fifty Ukrainian artists wrote a letter demanding her withdrawal. Prior controversies included a performer unfurling a Palestinian flag and an onstage scuffle.
Read at www.london-unattached.com
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