In the Smetana Hall of the Prague City House, on October 16, performance by Russian soprano Anna Netrebko was on the program. But everything points to the fact that the concert of the world famous opera singer from Krasnodar will not be held. At least in the Municipal House building, which belongs to the Czech capital.

As Seznam Zprávy found out, Prague’s political leadership opposed Anna Netrebko’s concert. He did not want the artist, who was a former sympathizer of Russian President Putin and had been involved Ukraine sanctions list he performed in the halls of the City Building.

“We will find a way to end the concert,” Jiří Pospíšil (TOP 09), deputy mayor of Prague in charge of culture, told Seznam Zprávy.

He also said that Anna Netrebko’s concert was discussed with his colleagues in the coalition council on Monday, and according to him, all those present shared the same opinion on this matter. “I am happy that there is no contradiction in this matter within the coalition,” Pospíšil also stated, adding that holding the concert would be very insensitive to the Ukrainian cause. “There is a lot of symbolism in it, and today there is a lot of symbolism,” added the Deputy.

Even before the Prague coalition meeting, Seznam Zprávy asked about the performance of Netrebko and former mayor and now first deputy Zdenek Hřib (Pirate). He did not want to express his personal opinion and said that everything was within the power of Jiří Pospíšil. “I immediately conveyed this matter to him,” he said.

Jiří Pospíšil said that he discussed the whole issue with the Czech government representative for Ukraine last week and also wanted to visit the Ukrainian embassy. At the same time, he intended to discuss the matter with the leadership of the DPRD. His boss, Vlastimil Ježek, spoke his mind beforehand for FORUM24 in the sense that he did not see any obstacles in the realization of the concert.

The Rapporteur’s List requested a statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Lipavský, but ultimately did not provide a response. Spokesman Daniel Drake took the general position. “Due to Russian aggression, the Czech Republic has established strict and clear rules for the entry and stay of Russian and Belarusian nationals in our territory. The responsible authorities must follow these rules,” the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, Anna Netrebko will be in Prague for the fifth time. He last appeared in December 2021.

The October concert was organized by agency Nachtigall Artists. Its producer, Alena Kunertová, said she did not understand the considerations of political intervention. He pointed out that the soprano condemned the war last year and eventually distanced himself from Russian President Putin.

“I feel like I explained it to everyone,” said Kunertová. According to him, the fact that Anna Netrebko appeared several times next to the Russian president in the past does not mean that she is his “super supporter”.

He also stated that he had confirmation from the Chairman of the City Council (Vlastimil Ježek) that the concert “can take place”.

In the event of an event cancellation, the agency and artist themselves will ask for compensation. The same as the compensation that was paid after the cancellation of the engagement at the New York Metropolitan Opera (the media wrote about 200 thousand dollars).

According to agency Nachtigall Artists, there was a lot of interest in the Prague event. According to him, currently 80 percent has been sold. “The Czechs were most interested,” said producer Kunertová for Seznam Zprávy.

The Ukrainian side justified Netrebko’s entry into the sanctions list by the fact that the opera star assisted Vladimir Putin during the presidential elections in 2012. And also because in 2014 he was photographed with the separatist flag “Novoruska” next to the self-proclaimed chairman of parliament Oleg Tsarev.

When war broke out in Ukraine in February, Netrebko immediately criticized it, but not directly at Putin. Until the end of March issue a statement in which he categorically condemns military operations and regrets several things in his past.

He also said he had only met Putin “a few times in his life”, at award ceremonies or at the Sochi Olympics opening ceremony. “I have never received any other financial support from the government of the Russian Federation, I live in Austria and I am a taxpayer of this country,” he said.

After this opinion, he could no longer return to Russia, he became an unwanted person in his homeland.

Even so, he had a lot of problems in the West. Her concert was quickly canceled by the New York Metropolitan Opera last year. Although he now appears on many prominent stages, he often does not receive a protest. Like for example recently in Germany in Wiesbaden.