The general manager of the Metropolitan Opera has spoken to a group of Ukrainian journalists about his attitude to the Russian invasion. Among other things, Gelb said: ‘I don’t want to have cultural ties with murderers. That is why I have completely stopped such cooperation.’
He goes on top reveal the full extent of his reasons for firing Anna Netrebko. The text has been translated from a Ukrainian publication for slippedisc.com:
Q: I can’t help but ask you about Anna Netrebko. In 2023, after the scandal in 2022 when she was dismissed, as you noted — for her unwillingness to distance herself from the criminal actions of the Russian leadership — she demanded compensation from the MET. Was it about $360,000?
PG: Yes.
Q: What was the outcome of that case?
PG: There were several cases. In America, there are many unions. The MET has fifteen. And there is a union called AGMA that represents singers. She filed a complaint with AGMA stating that since I had terminated her employment and she had contracts, she should be compensated for those contracts.
Arbitration was appointed. I refused to negotiate voluntarily. I said I didn’t want to pay her anything. I insisted that only the arbitrator should make the decision. Usually, in such situations, a compromise is reached. But I said: I terminated her for moral reasons, and if the arbitrator orders us to pay — we will pay, but only under duress. That is, only by the arbitrator’s decision.
And he ruled that part of her claim was justified, while part was not. So we only paid the portion that the arbitrator deemed lawful. After that, she sued us. And this is now a new court case that is still ongoing. She filed a lawsuit on several grounds. The suit is filed against both me personally and against the MET.
Q: And you still don’t plan to “settle”?
No. This is a case where we will not compromise.
But an important point in the Netrebko case — I gave her the opportunity to publicly distance herself from Putin. She said she couldn’t. I believe she had certain discussions with the Kremlin. And, as I see it, she came back to me and said: “I stand with my country.” And that was when I fired her. Her statement a month later claiming she was against the war — in my opinion, was insincere. It appeared only because I terminated her. Legally, I consider it to be an insincere statement. I don’t believe she truly meant it.
pictured together in 2019
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