SSo she sang in Berlin. And how she sang! But the audience sensed right after her first aria as Lady Macbeth that there was more at stake for Anna Netrebko than making music during her performance at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden after the violent protests of the last few days: jubilant applause broke out in the sold-out house went on, which became even louder when a few boos were mixed in, and the Russian soprano, whose political stance on the war of aggression against Ukraine is so embarrassingly viewed through a magnifying glass, remained silent for a few moments and absorbed the devotion of her admirers. Done! Then she brought her hand to her heart and distributed kisses. She had the audience in her pocket, and the few disruptors in the upper echelons would only increase their loyalty.
The triumphant gesture seemed even more intense after the flawlessly sung second aria: Netrebko lay down on the white sofa, let the applause rain down, rocked his heels, even took one off and then put it back on, as if immersed in the evil lasciviousness of Lady Macbeth , who drives her husband to murder. At that moment she was also an artist who enjoyed the seconds of devotion. Or was the audience just imagining it? She is probably professional enough to conjure up such scenes without any major inner involvement. It only feels different for the audience, the audience is not a professional, but a kneadable mass.
The Ukrainian flag at the opera house
This audience – many with ties and expensive summer tans, the ladies with exquisite dresses, the likes of which you don’t often see in Berlin – has already passed the first test when they arrive at the opera house. Because outside in the evening sun, behind the barrier, a group of perhaps 200 people with banners and powerful vocal cords has formed: “No stage for Russian propaganda!” they chant. “Shame on you, shame on you!” Then: “Shame, Netrebko!” And: “Russia is a terrorist state!” Speeches are given that talk about Netrebko’s closeness to Putin. A banner reads: “No stage for Putin’s bitch!” That doesn’t sound nice at all. A long time ago, the Kremlin boss and supreme Russian warlord gave her awards and gave her a eulogy. This is now coming back as a boomerang. And Ukrainian flags everywhere. The largest of them hangs at the opera house. To the demonstrators it must seem like usurpation.
The opera-goers sniffing around the loud crowd is a spectacle in itself. You’re not used to being subjected to police checks to visit a cultural temple like the Berlin State Opera and being greeted with rehearsed slogans. Sensibly, not only the almost neighboring Russian embassy is fenced off this evening – it has been since the war of aggression began on February 24, 2022 – but also the rest of the street on Unter den Linden and the place that is hosting a Russian singer today. It doesn’t help at all that Netrebko lives in Austria, where she says she pays her taxes. She is now an Austrian citizen, has not accepted any engagements in Russia since the beginning of the war and has reduced her statements about the war, which are often clumsy, to something like a general rejection of violence, without mentioning Vladimir Putin by name. However, she doesn’t have to answer one question: how many guest tickets the Russian Embassy has ordered in order to experience the most important Russian diva of today live.
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