Soprano who refused to repudiate Putin sues Metropolitan Opera

Soprano Anna Netrebko is suing the Metropolitan Opera and general manager Peter Gelb, alleging defamation, breach of contract and other violations related to the institution’s decision to drop her following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The suit, filed in US District Court in Manhattan on Friday, asks for at least 360,000 US dollars (£281,000) in damages for lost performance and rehearsal fees.

Ms Netrebko claims the Met caused “severe mental anguish and emotional distress” that included “depression, humiliation, embarrassment, stress and anxiety, and emotional pain and suffering.”

The Met, in New York, dropped the Russian soprano from future engagements shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Mr Gelb had demanded she repudiate Russian president Vladimir Putin.

“Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Met and Peter Gelb have used Anna Netrebko as a scapegoat in their campaign to distance themselves from Russia and to support Ukraine,” the management of the 51-year-old soprano said in a statement.

The Met said in a statement: “Ms Netrebko’s lawsuit has no merit.”

The American Guild of Musical Artists filed a grievance on Ms Netrebko’s behalf and an arbitrator ruled in February that the Met violated the union’s collective bargaining agreement when it cancelled deals with Ms Netrebko to appear in Verdi’s Don Carlo and La Forza del Destino and Giordano’s Andrea Chenier.

He awarded her compensation for the lost performances, which the union calculated at more than 200,000 US dollars (£156,000).