Overview

• Hundreds gathered outside Covent Garden on September 7 to oppose Anna Netrebko’s engagement, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reporting cited by Ukrinform.
• The Royal Opera House confirmed the Tosca run from September 11 to October 7 will go ahead and said it held a cordial discussion with Valerii Zaluzhnyi about his concerns.
• Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry publicly criticized the engagement, stating that culture must not whitewash complicity with war and recalling Netrebko’s documented support for Putin.
• An open letter signed by artists and public figures called for Netrebko’s removal from the cast despite the production being sold out.
• Previous institutional actions include contract terminations by the Bavarian State Opera and the Metropolitan Opera, while Netrebko has since condemned the 2022 invasion and has not returned to Russia.