It took Russian soprano Anna Netrebko over a month and contemplating her career falling into ruins, before she finally expressed « clearly » her condemnation of the invasion, yesterday in a Facebook message.
« I regret that my past actions or statements may have been misinterpreted, » the 50-year-old singer wrote. « I expressly condemn the war against Ukraine. My position is clear, » she added.
Anne Netrebko, who lives in Vienna, has dual Russian and Austrian nationality, announced on March 1 that she was giving up all her stage performances « until further notice. »
While she has not openly proclaimed her support for the Russian president, she has been criticized for going to Donetsk in December 2015 to pose with the flag of the pro-Russian separatist rebels. She also caused controversy when she handed over a check for one million rubles (about 15,000 euros) to pro-Russian Ukrainian leader Oleg Tsarev.
