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The Berlin State Opera\u2019s production of Verdi\u2019s \u201cMacbeth\u201d begins with the madly ambitious Lady Macbeth slowly walking over a burning battlefield, carrying a sword as she negotiates a stage littered with corpses.<\/p>\n
As the Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, who sang that role at the State Opera on Friday, crossed from left to right, the scene was a hallucinatory version of real life: a powerful woman attempting to make her way through a world aflame with war.<\/p>\n
Netrebko, one of opera\u2019s biggest stars, has been under fire in the West<\/a> since the Russian invasion of Ukraine for her long history of support for President Vladimir V. Putin. But on Friday, she was appearing in a staged opera in Germany for the first time since the war broke out, the latest milestone in her return to major cultural institutions.<\/p>\n She received a warm ovation at her curtain call, even as she performed in the face of opposition<\/a> from political leaders and robust, angry protests outside the opera house that continued through the end of the show, including rounds of chants that her appearance was \u201cSchande,\u201d a disgrace.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Inside, isolated but loud, sustained boos were mixed with the applause after both parts of her opening aria. She responded by standing center stage with arms folded and lips pursed, breaking character to blow kisses to the conductor and orchestra.<\/p>\n After the Russian invasion, in February 2022, Netrebko\u2019s performances were called off for a time as she gave confused signals about her position. That March, the Metropolitan Opera canceled her contracts<\/a>, and did not change course after she announced<\/a> she opposed the war but refused to denounce Putin. (Last month, Netrebko sued the Met<\/a> for discrimination, defamation and breach of contract.)<\/p>\n But over the past year and a half, she has gradually returned to stages in South America and Europe, including the Vienna State Opera, Paris Opera and Teatro alla Scala in Milan. The response has been a mix of protests (usually outside) and cheers (in).<\/p>\n Berlin, though, is a hotbed of pro-Ukraine sentiment. So her appearance at the State Opera \u2014 she was engaged for four performances of \u201cMacbeth\u201d that continue through Saturday<\/a> \u2014 has been the object of intense scrutiny.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a difficult decision, of course,\u201d Matthias Schulz, the company\u2019s general director, said in an interview. But, he added, \u201cI\u2019m still absolutely behind that decision.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n He and Netrebko\u2019s other defenders argue that her statement was sufficiently clear \u2014 \u201cShe used the word \u2018war,\u2019\u201d Schulz said, \u201cand she used the words \u2018against Ukraine\u2019\u201d \u2014 and that she distanced herself from Putin, even if she stopped well short of criticizing him.<\/p>\n Such direct criticism, they add, is nearly impossible when dealing with an authoritarian government, as it might expose Netrebko, her family and friends, especially those still living in Russia, to security risks. (Netrebko, a citizen of Russia and Austria, lives in Vienna.)<\/p>\n Schulz emphasized that her behavior since the war began has not further compromised her. Unlike some Russian artists \u2014 including her mentor, the conductor Valery Gergiev<\/a> \u2014 she did not remain in the country, nor has she returned to perform there. The Greek-Russian conductor Teodor Currentzis has drawn criticism<\/a> for the support he received from a sanctioned Russian bank, but has continued to be engaged in the West, though he has made no public statement about the war.<\/p>\n It is crucial, Netrebko\u2019s supporters say, not to tar all Russian artists with the same brush and thus play into the hands of Putin, who claims that the West is implacably Russophobic.<\/p>\n Yet agreeing that all Russian artists shouldn\u2019t <\/em>be condemned isn\u2019t the same as saying that none should. Given Netrebko\u2019s stardom, and her documented history praising and receiving recognition from Putin, her case is different from that of less prominent Russian musicians<\/a> who have condemned the war. Nevertheless, her posture has been that of victim.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cShe just doesn\u2019t understand why she\u2019s been made responsible for this,\u201d Schulz said.<\/p>\n Netrebko seems to believe that she is being held responsible for actions in which she\u2019s had no part, and that she has been blamed for her behavior before the war more than, say, political leaders in Germany and elsewhere who did business with Putin. The Met and other companies were protested for years for engaging her and Gergiev as Russia passed anti-gay laws and annexed Crimea.<\/p>\n But many of those people and institutions have admitted that they were wrong. Netrebko\u2019s statements have expressed no remorse for her support of Putin, nor for an incident in 2014 in which she gave a donation to an opera house in Donetsk, a Ukrainian city controlled by Russian separatists, and was photographed holding a separatist flag.<\/p>\n