Soprano Anna Netrebko is scheduled to give a recital at the Palm Beach Opera House at its gala on February 3, in what would be her first U.S. appearance in six years.
Considered the best soprano in the world, Netrebko was abandoned by the Metropolitan Opera in 2022 after she refused a demand from Met general manager Peter Gelb that she repudiate Russian President Vladimir Putin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. She has sued the Metalleging defamation and breach of contract in pending lawsuit.
She has since performed at major houses including the Vienna State Opera, the Paris Opera, Teatro alla Scala in Milan and the Staatsoper unter den Linden in Berlin, but had not been hired in the USA or by the Royal Opera in London. She last appeared at the Met in 2019 in Verdi’s “Macbeth.”
Netrebko will perform with pianist Ángel Rodríguez at The Breakers hotel.
“I am honored to lend my voice to the Palm Beach Opera’s annual gala,” Netrebko said in a statement sent Wednesday to The Associated Press.
Palm Beach Opera’s season includes three performances of Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette” in January, Verdi’s “La Traviata” in February and Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” in April. Casts have not been announced.
Previous Palm Beach Opera galas have featured Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Renée Fleming and Bryn Terfel, with Isabel Leonard (2024), Piotr Beczala (2023) and Nadine Sierra (2022) appearing in recent years.
“It means a lot to me to join the remarkable list of distinguished singers who have participated in this celebration over the past decades,” said Netrebko.
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