Hungary refused to cancel Netrebko’s speech after Ukraine’s appeal

Hungarian State Opera Theater Director Sylvester Okovach refused to cancel the performance of Russian opera’s singer Anna Netrebko following the appeal of the Ukrainian ambassador to Hungary Fedor Shandor. He published his answer on Facebook on Wednesday, March 12.

The Opera director thanked the Ukraine ambassador for the letter, but announced a disagreement of its content.

“The opera is not a political product or a military. Artists are not politicians or soldiers … I am convinced that art contains the power of good, so the Mus should not be quiet during the battles, especially since Hungary is not a side war and does not want to play the role of an unnamed fraternal conflict,” Okovach said.

She noted that Anna Netrebko is “the best soprano in the world today,” she has performed in recent years in the stages of Milan, Paris, Berlin, Madrid and Vienna, and also traveled to the United States, and for musicians in the theater this will be the ninth joint performance with the Russian singer.

“I ask the ambassador not to throw a stone either in the Hungarian state opera, or the performance that the most expensive tickets have been sold for the entire 141 -the institution’s history. This indicates that our countrymen also appreciate Anna Netrebko’s art,” said the theater director.

Okovach said “Hungary is a world island”, and many amazing -spectacular Ukrainian and Russian dancers work in the state opera.

Remember that Russian opera singer Anna Netrebko actively supported the Russian War during the Donbass attack in 2014. She went to Donetsk, supporting the So -called “DPR”.

After the start of Russia’s entire -scale raid in 2022, a number of theaters suspended Netrebko’s cooperation, but it gradually returned to the opera scene.