The Case of Netrebko Regarding Discrimination Continues in Court

• The court allowed Netrebko to continue her lawsuit against the Met.
• Advocates assert that the replacement of artists was done improperly.
• Netrebko accuses the Met of discrimination based on national origin.

New York (AP) — A federal court has allowed Russian soprano Anna Netrebko to continue her lawsuit against the Metropolitan Opera, in which she accuses the theater of discrimination based on national origin. The opera withdrew from her services after she withdrew her support for President Vladimir Putin through a campaign against Ukraine.

The decision of the U.S. court, analyzed by Nadine Torres in Manhattan, became known in the middle of the day after it was issued. The case will also address claims of discrimination based on national origin. The date of the court process has not yet been announced.

Netrebko did not respond to a request for comment.

General Director of the Met, Peter Gelb, demanded that Netrebko denounce Putin's actions after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but she refused, and she was removed from three of the Met's productions. In one of those productions, she was replaced by Ukrainian soprano Lyudmyla Monastyrska.

In September of last year, Torres withdrew Netrebko's lawsuit regarding discrimination based on national origin, as well as accusations of breach of contract. However, in her latest ruling, the court noted that "the accused supports the assumption that the replacement of Netrebko with non-Russian artists occurred in circumstances that provide grounds for prima facie discrimination."

American guild of musical artists submitted a complaint against Netrebko, and arbiter Howard S. Edelman ruled in July 2023 that the Met violated a collective agreement with the union, stating that the agreement with Netrebko regarding three productions was violated. Edelman awarded compensation that the union valued at $209,103.48.

Torres allowed Netrebko to continue her separate lawsuit regarding discrimination based on national origin in accordance with the New York State Human Rights Law and the New York City Human Rights Law. She stated that the Met was subject to human rights laws due to the connections of Netrebko's colleagues, who have ties to Putin and the Russian government, being more favorable.

Tags: Culture