Ukraine’s culture ministry calls on Roman Opera to cancel performances of Russian singer Netrebko

The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine calls on the mayor of Rome and the head of the Rome Opera House to cancel the performances of the Russian opera singer Anna Netrebko at the Rome Opera House.

This is said in the statement of the MCIP, Rubryka cites.

"The 'voice of propaganda' should not be heard worldwide. We consider inadmissible any cooperation with the bearers of hostile narratives, among which Russian cultural figures occupy the "honorable" place. After all, the aggressor uses art as a method of justifying numerous war crimes, including the murders of Ukrainian civilians, massive and targeted attacks on residential buildings, infrastructure facilities, institutions, and cultural monuments," the ministry said.

The Ministry of Culture emphasized that representatives of Russian culture have no place on the world's leading stages. Trying to help Russia spread its imperial narratives is "an attempt to level the horrors of war by legitimizing Russian crimes in Ukraine."

"Ukraine highly appreciates the support that Italy has provided to our country since the first days of the full-scale war at the level of the state, local authorities, and every citizen. We are sure that the planned performances of the Russian singer are a regrettable mistake. Anna Netrebko publicly supports the Putin regime and the annexation of Crimea, so she is a bearer of Russian imperial ideology and complicit in the crimes of the Russian Federation," the statement reads.

MCIP emphasized that the world community cannot allow Russian propaganda to spread its influence on citizens of a civilized society that does not tolerate any manifestations of aggression.

Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine criticized the Roman Opera's invite of the Russian Anna Netrebko to perform on its stage.

In May, Netrebko's concert in Switzerland was canceled due to a conference on the war in Ukraine, and in Germany, she is being returned to the stage.

As reported, after Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine, performances of Netrebko, who previously posed with the "flag of the DNR" in a T-shirt with the inscription "To Berlin," as well as with Putin, were canceled in many theaters around the world. In her statement from March 2022, Netrebko said that she "categorically condemns the war" but did not mention who started it or who the aggressor was.