Met Opera opens the night with Ukrainian national anthem

On Monday, Metropolitan Opera expressed solidarity with Ukraine. The cast of Don Carlos joined the stage to sing the Ukrainian national anthem as the audience rose from their seats at Lincoln Center.

Peter Gelb, the Met's general manager, came up with the idea to sing the Ukrainian national anthem on Monday morning, NBC New York reports. The company supported Gelb’s decision and agreed it was important to send a message. The cast began to learn lyrics in the morning with the help of Vlad Buialskiy, Met’s member and bass-baritone from Ukraine.

The Met announced that it would cut ties with any performers and staff members who support Vladimir Putin. The company published the statement in support of Ukraine on Facebook. 

“As an international company, the Met can help ring the alarm and contribute to the fight against oppression,” said Peter Gelb. "We can no longer engage with artists or institutions that support Putin or are supported by him, not until the invasion and killing has been stopped, the order has been restored, and restitutions have been made.”

Other artistic institutions imposed similar measures. Russian conductor Valery Gergiev was recently fired from the Munich Philharmonic orchestra due to his support of Vladimir Putin. Additionally, Russian pianist Denis Matsuev, who supported the annexation of Crimea, was replaced by Carnegie Hall with Seong-Jin Cho. 

Multiple international organizations took action against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. FIFA and UEFA suspended all Russian representative teams from World Cup and other soccer competitions. Facebook and Instagram announced that they will limit the spread of content created by Russian state media. 

Image credit:

Metropolitan Opera website.

Resources:

“Met Opera Opens with Ukrainian National Anthem, Parts Ways with Pro-Putin Performers,” by Bobby Panza (I Love Upper West Side, 2022)

“Met Opera Opens With Emotional Ukrainian Anthem, Cuts Ties With Pro-Putin Performers,” by Ida Siegal (NBC New York)

“Russian conductor Valery Gergiev fired from Munich Philharmonic for not opposing Putin, his friend,” by Timothy Bella (The Washington Post, 2022)

“Review: ‘Don Carlos’ Finally Brings French Verdi to the Met,” by Zachary Woolfe (The New York Times, 2022)

“Pianist Seong-Jin Cho Replaces Denis Matsuev at Carnegie Hall's Vienna Phil Concerts,” (The Violin Channel, 2022)

“Valery Gergiev, a Putin Supporter, Will Not Conduct at Carnegie Hall,” by Javier C. Hernández (The New York Times, 2022)

“Facebook and Instagram cut the reach of Russian state media,” by Taylor Hatmaker (Tech Crunch, 2022) 

“FIFA suspends Russia from World Cup, all soccer competitions: What it means, how it works,” by Gabriele Marcotti (ESPN, 2022)