Anna Netrebko is recovering in a hospital in Moscow after contracting Covid while performing at the Bolshoi. Adding in all the other outbreaks occurring throughout European companies that tried to reopen before the virus was truly contained and we have a very cautionary tale we should be paying attention to.
"Ms. Netrebko used the Instagram post largely to defend her decision to go to back to work. “I had two choices,” she wrote: to “stay at home and be afraid of getting infected” or “start working, traveling around, performing at the risk of getting sick.”
“I unconditionally chose 2 and do not regret anything,” she said."
She may not regret anything, but no mention all of the other people her choices put in danger.
It will be interesting to see the long-term case study now of just what sort of damage the virus can do to an instrument like that.
she is lucky to still be able to post and tweet. Now we hold our collective breath and wait to see if she is lucky enough to recover from pneumonia with her instrument intact.
...and IMO, if she doesn't do well in the vocal strength side, 'too bad, so sad'. I read an article -- not the one listed above -- where she came across as pretty arrogant about the whole Covid issue.
And sadly her very cavalier attitude is far from the first problematic thing she's done. For instance, she's pushed back, and pushed back HARD, in her defense of donning blackface to sing the title role in Aida. She's had to walk back and "clarify" statements dismissing sexual abuse and assault within the classical music world. And of course her troubling pro-Putin history.
AEA AGMA SM said: "And sadly her very cavalier attitude is far from the first problematic thing she's done. For instance, she's pushed back, and pushed back HARD, in her defense of donning blackface to sing the title role inAida. She's had to walk back and "clarify" statements dismissing sexual abuse and assault within the classical music world. And of course her troubling pro-Putin history."
In her defense, her pro-Putin history may be forgiven because she has family in Russia. She may feel she has to publicly support him to protect them. Of course, she may just like him, I don't know.
As far as "black face" in Aida, well she looks like someone who just got back from a spray tan. She looks more orange than anything. I read an interview a few months ago with the African American tenor Russell Thomas who feels that white opera singers darkening their features for Aida or Othello is very different from black face minstrelsy ala Al Jolson or something. At any rate, the last time Aida and Othello were done at the Met no dark make-up was used, and this seems like a good idea to me. No need to add pointless controversy, even if it is tradition.
Putin declared in June that the war on Covid had been won and the country has been reopening way too quickly. What has happened at the Bolshoi is horrible, but what has happened at the Miriinsky Ballet is even worse. Maestro Valery Gergiev, the head of the theatre and Putins Butt Boy, is responsible for that. If anyone is still questioning why Broadway hasn't reopened, this should be a great lesson in why it can't right now.
My understanding is that her relationship with Putin is far more than one of expressing support; it seems they are "friends."
Let's not get off track however: this is not about that. This is about the fact that she did something very very stupid, and in doing so hurt not only herself but those around her, her fans, and the many people who depend on her for their livelihoods.
FWIW I have a co-worker who was in the hospital with pneumonia back in April. He was sent home after being stabilized. This many months later he still has a cough, has difficulty taking a full breath sometimes, uses an inhaler. And no one expects him to break into his best rendition of "D'amor sull'ali rosee."
Dancingthrulife2 said: "Or she is a human being that doesn’t have to live in the same echo chamber as you and is entitled to per opinions on politics."
again, that's not what this is about. I am astonished by the lack of clear-headedness some people exhibit n this board day in and day out. Do you think she has the right to damage others? Because that's what you are saying. If she wants to ruin her voice, yes that is her right, just as you have the right to cut off your feet and hobble around.
Dancingthrulife2 said: "Or she is a human being that doesn’t have to live in the same echo chamber as you and is entitled to per opinions on politics."
I've yet to meet anyone who thinks anyone isn't entitled to their own opinions. I don't know why people say this. It's frankly dumb.
And I'll gladly live in the echo chamber that says " don't spread deadly diseases."
I assume she was allowed to perform right? - and surely she must have known the risks, as did everyone around her, including her colleagues and audence members. She and they will suffer any relevant consequences - so it did indeed appear to be her and their 'right' in this context, correct me if I'm wrong. It's not like they were trying to hold some 'underground' performance in New York City against the local law lol. Whether or not it was a good decision or not I suppose is another question.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
qolbinau said: "I assume she was allowed to perform right? - and surely she must have known the risks, as did everyone around her, including her colleagues and audence members. She and they will suffer any relevant consequences - so it did indeed appear to be her and their 'right' in this context, correct me if I'm wrong. It's not like they were trying to hold some 'underground' performance in New York City against the local law lol. Whether or not it was a good decision or not I suppose is another question."
Correct. This is not about the lawfulness of what she did where she did it; it's just about the stupidity of doing it, and I suppose some understandable anger about how that stupidity may well translate into a loss of the voice that a lot of folks kinda like having around. Kinda like when great performers drink themselves to death, but without the underlying illness to explain it.