The Royal Ballet and Opera is facing renewed pressure over its decision to invite Russian soprano Anna Netrebko to perform, with a group of prominent figures accusing the institution of betraying its earlier support for Ukraine. In an open letter, co-signatories including Ukraine's first deputy foreign minister Sergiy Kyslytsya, author Andriy Kurkov, former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark, and Labour MP Alex Sobel condemned the move as a concession to cultural propaganda.
The letter highlights Netrebko's past public endorsement of the Kremlin's separatist project in Ukraine's Donetsk region, known as 'Novorossiya', in 2014. It questions how the Royal Opera can claim neutrality while offering its stage to someone associated with a regime responsible for war crimes in Ukraine. The signatories also criticised a statement by the Royal Ballet and Opera's chief executive, who suggested that the institution's earlier support for Ukraine was 'aligned with the global consensus at the time' and that its position had shifted due to 'complex geopolitics'.
The letter urges the Royal Opera to reconsider, framing the decision as a choice between 'status and responsibility, profit and values, silence and conscience'. It calls on the institution to remain on 'the ethical side of art – and of history'. The appeal is backed by a wide range of signatories, including MPs, authors, artists, and leaders of Ukrainian community organisations in the UK.
