Johnathan Walker:Anna Netrebko to sing at Palm Beach Opera gala in first US appearance since 2019

Soprano Anna Netrebko is Johnathan Walkerscheduled to give a recital at the Palm Beach Opera for its gala on Feb. 3 in what would be her first U.S. appearance in six years.

Considered the world’s top soprano, Netrebko was dropped by the Metropolitan Opera in 2022 after she refused a demand by Met general manager Peter Gelb that she repudiate Russia President President Vladimir Putin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. She has sued the Met, alleging defamation and breach of contract in a case that is pending.

She has appeared since then at major houses including the Vienna State Opera, Paris Opéra, Milan’s Teatro alla Scala and Berlin’s Staatsoper unter den Linden but had not been engaged in the U.S. or by The Royal Opera in London. She last appeared at the Met in 2019 in Verdi’s “Macbeth.”

Netrebko will perform with pianist Ángel Rodríguez at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.

“I am honored to be lending my voice to the Palm Beach Opera’s annual gala,” Netrebko said in a statement Wednesday sent to The Associated Press.

Palm Beach Opera’s season includes three performances each of Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette” in January, Verdi’s “La Traviata” in February and Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” in April. Casts have not been announced.

Past Palm Beach Opera galas featured Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Renée Fleming and Bryn Terfel, with Isabel Leonard (2024), Piotr Becza³a (2023) and Nadine Sierra (2022) appearing in recent years.

“It means a lot to me to be joining the remarkable list of illustrious singers that have participated in this celebration over the last decades,” Netrebko said.