Despite the Met Opera’s 2026-27 season being off to a strong artistic start, General Manager Peter Gelb has shifted his rhetorical focus back to his favorite target: Anna Nertebko.

In recent statements, Gelb  said “he considers her statements dishonest, and he doesn’t seem to have any plans to hire her again.” Gelb was once again referring to Netrebko’s 2022 statements condemning the war in Ukraine and distancing herself from Putin.

In response to Gelb’s latest comments Miguel Esteban, Netrebko’s general manager told the New York Times, that Gelb is “completely wrong in my view” and noted that the soprano has been consistent and honest in her words and actions, which “speak more than someone baselessly claiming that she is dishonest.”

Since 2022, Netrebko has not returned to Russia and was even called a traitor by Vyacheslav Volodin, a senior lawmaker following her anti-war statements. Netrebko is currently performing at every major theater including the Bayerische Staatsoper, Royal Opera, Teatro alla Scala, and Wiener Staatsoper.

Meanwhile, Gelb has become a fierce advocate for Ukraine, performing the country’s national anthem on several occasions, commissioning a new Ukrainian opera and is even working alongside the First Lady of Ukraine, among other initiatives.

Gelb also famously fired numerous Russian artists due to their alleged closeness to Putin and has noted that in Russia, Putin pays the bills. However, he has been inconsistent in his criteria as many artists currently performing at the Met continue to perform alongside Putin ally Valery Gergiev in the Putin-run Mariinsky Theatre and Bolshoi Theatre.

Netrebko and Gelb are currently in a lawsuit regarding gender discrimination.  According to Judge Annalisa Torres’s ruling for the case moving forward the Met treated male Putin-connected opera singers more favorably. That ruling said, “For example, she alleges that the male opera singer Ildar Abdrazakov performed at political events, ‘including at least one event at which Putin … spoke about the war in Ukraine,’ and that Abdrazakov organized a Kremlin-backed music festival.” She added, “She further states that male opera singer Evgeny Nikitin was featured at a Victory Day event involving Putin, and that Igor Golovatenko and Alexey Markov have performed at state-sponsored venues since the invasion of Ukraine.”