Romania nixes pro-Putin operatic singer Netrebko’s concert amid Ukrainian community efforts

Ukraine’s diplomatic corps and the Ukrainian in Romania successfully secured the cancellation of a performance by Russian operatic soprano Anna Netrebko, who harbors pro-Kremlin views about the Russo-Ukrainian war, the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry reported.

Netrebko, 54, was scheduled to perform in the city of Cluj-Napoca on Oct. 6 with the Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra. She was also expected to receive an honorary doctorate from the George Enescu National University of Music.

“To prevent her performance, the Embassy of Ukraine in Romania engaged with the rector of the National University of Music, Romanian county and state institutions (including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture), and also involved civil society representatives,” the ministry said.

Netrebko, a Russian citizen who also holds dual Austrian citizenship, is known for her support of Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin. In 2014, she posed with the so-called “Novorossiya” flag and endorsed the covert Russian occupation of certain parts of the easternmost Donetsk and Luhansk region.

Ukraine added her to its sanctions list in 2023.

“By canceling Netrebko’s performance, the Romanian side demonstrated understanding and solidarity with Ukraine in countering Russia’s hybrid influence through so-called ‘cultural events,’” the ministry said.

Diplomats said that the international isolation of pro-Kremlin artists must continue as long as Russia wages its aggressive, genocidal, and bloody war, with its forces committing daily war crimes.

“Culture cannot be used to whitewash the reputation of an aggressor,” the ministry said.

Earlier, in September, the Ukrainian community in the United Kingdom organized a protest against Netrebko’s planned performance at the Royal Opera House.