It might seem that dropping a lead or even a supporting role in a highly anticipated opera would get your name onto some kind of list. But, of course, there's only one soprano named Anna Yuryevna Netrebko.
As Norman Lebrecht confirms over at his "Slipped Disc" blog on Arts Journal, Netrebko's pulling out of Marguerite at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden's April production of Gounod's Faust.
Like any Faustian anti-hero, the darkness of truth may be hard to discover. What's done is done, though, so let's just be happy Putin hasn't come to claim her soul. Again.
Netrebko's statement is as follows:
"I am so sorry to have to withdraw from the role of Marguerite in Faust. After much consideration and intensive preparation, I have come to the conclusion that the role is not right for me. I had been very much looking forward to debuting this role at the Royal Opera House and following it with further performances in Vienna and Baden-Baden. Unfortunately, I must now withdraw from all these productions. I am very sad to be disappointing my fans in these cities and hope they will understand the difficult decision that I have had to make. However, I am very much looking forward to returning to the Royal Opera to perform with the company again in 2015."
Also jumping on the bandwagon is Polish tenor Piotr Beczala, who's pulled out of Offenbach's Tales of Hoffman in Vienna.
Now, we just need to get those other Ruskies to pull out, too.
Watching Netrebko here in La Traviata, yeah, we think she could use a break.
A long, hard one...
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