Open letter: Request for a Clear Institutional and Artistic Position Regarding the Engagement of Anna Netrebko

Dear Mr. Matthias Schulz and Members of the Opernhaus Zürich Direction,

We are writing to express our concern and to suggest a way forward regarding the recent decision to engage soprano Anna Netrebko for La forza del destino in the 2025/26 season. In your recent interview with Neue Zürcher Zeitung (16 October 2025), you emphasised that artists must not be used as “scapegoats” for political circumstances and that your decision was made “first and foremost on artistic grounds.” We acknowledge and respect this perspective. However, we also believe that in the context of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, which is going for more than three and a half years, the symbolic meaning of such artistic choices cannot be separated from their political and moral resonance especially when no clear and subsequent statements were made.

Anna Netrebko’s past actions — including her public support for Vladimir Putin in 2012 and in 2018 and her 2014 donation to the opera house in Donetsk, then under the control of pro-Russian separatists — have left an indelible mark on her public image. While she has since declared that she “expressly condemns the war on Ukraine” and that she is “not allied with any political leader” (Deutsche Welle, 2022), these statements, though welcome, have not been accompanied by a clear and unequivocal rejection of her previous gestures of support toward a regime responsible for aggression and mass murders. Currently, a large number of artists have lost the opportunity to perform in Russia because of their political views. At the same time, even a peaceful performance by an unwanted artist, such as singing a simple song on the streets of St. Petersburg, can lead to imprisonment. Meanwhile, countless Ukrainian artists have not only lost their jobs but their homes, and in some cases their lives, as theaters have been destroyed in the ongoing war. Many have been forced into exile, struggling to continue their creative work abroad while witnessing the erasure of their cultural heritage at home.

Ms Netrebko has become a symbol of what is often referred to as “regime culture” - a system in which celebrated artists lend legitimacy to authoritarian power through their prominence. As Ukrainian representatives in Switzerland have articulated, a presence of Netrebko on stage is clearly a statement to ever growing connections to the Russian state. This perceived indifference to the reputation institutions is deeply troubling. Granting such an artist one of Europe’s most prestigious stages without a transparent dialogue or a renewed, unequivocal statement from her side risks undermining the values of human dignity, justice, and peace that European cultural institutions ought to uphold.

We therefore respectfully urge the Opernhaus Zürich to:

1. Request from Ms Netrebko a clear, public, and specific statement condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine and acknowledging the symbolic implications of her past actions. We, as a community, are ready to help facilitate a space for dialogue with Swiss journalists for an in-depth interview.

2. Complement the above by taking a concrete humanitarian step - such as donating part of the proceeds from her performances to a Ukrainian foundation supporting children affected by the war, Ukrainian artists in exile, or to initiatives aiding victims of political repression in Russia, or a combination of these causes.

3. Ensure that future engagements with artists from the Russian cultural sphere are guided by transparent ethical standards that balance artistic freedom with moral responsibility.

Should Ms. Netrebko fail to take any of these measures, we demand that her performances at the Opernhaus be canceled.

We firmly believe that artistic excellence and moral clarity are not opposing principles — they are the foundation of a truly free and humane culture. We are representatives of the Russian community in Switzerland, and Ms. Netrebko’s performance in Zurich is deeply painful for us. She does not represent the values or integrity we would wish to see embodied by someone standing as a representative of our country on the opera stage.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Respectfully,

Future Russia - Switzerland