Anna Netrebko’s team has filed a supplemental complaint against the Metropolitan Opera and Peter Gelb, addressing defamatory statements made by the Met’s General Manager.

In the letter to the court accompanying the draft complaint filed on July 24, 2025, the soprano’s lawyer Julie Ulmet said, “As alleged in the proposed supplemental complaint, subsequent to Plaintiff’s commencement of this litigation, Gelb and the Met began a renewed public campaign to defame Netrebko and disparage her in retaliation for instituting this litigation against them. This renewed campaign—grounded in verifiably false statements—was intended to inflict further harm on Netrebko’s career by publicly positioning the Met as a champion of Ukraine while falsely portraying Netrebko as emblematic of the Putin regime. Gelb’s direct references to this lawsuit in the recent disparaging and defamatory interviews show that they are attempts to retaliate against Netrebko for pursuing her claims against Defendants. Moreover, Gelb’s decision to unnecessarily defame Netrebko in an interview with Ukraine’s national news agency—during a time when Ukraine and Russia are engaged in continuing and escalating conflict—can only have been intended to intimidate Netrebko and place her in harm’s way. The dissemination of the statements throughout Ukraine and beyond increased the possibility of threats of physical harm to Netrebko as she performs around the world.”

The letter added, “It is unfortunate that Ms. Netrebko must make this request. She would certainly prefer that her dispute with the Met be an incident in her past that will be resolved through this judicial process. Unfortunately, even three years after the central events at issue in this litigation, and after Ms. Netrebko instituted litigation and sent multiple subsequent cease and desist letters, Defendants still have not relented in their smear campaign against her. She seeks the Court’s leave to file a supplemental complaint in order to defend herself from their ongoing attacks and harassment.”

The complaint also notes that Gelb’s criticism of the Palm Beach Opera’s hiring of Netrebko, “discourage other employers from hiring Plaintiff, sully her reputation, and are sufficient to deter a reasonable employee from complaining about discrimination.”

Netrebko’s management released a statement adding, “Anna Netrebko has requested the court’s permission to supplement her original complaint against Defendants Metropolitan Opera and Peter Gelb in New York federal court to address several defamatory statements made by Gelb during recent interviews in Ukraine and Austria. The filing highlights the retaliatory nature of the statements and their threat to Anna Netrebko’s safety. Filed only after Gelb ignored various cease-and-desist letters, the proposed supplemental complaint alleges that the Defendants retaliated against Netrebko to dissuade other Metropolitan Opera employees from asserting their workplace rights or taking action against the institution. Although Anna Netrebko would have preferred the ongoing lawsuit focus on past events, Gelb’s renewed attacks more than three years after Anna Netrebko’s wrongful termination by Defendants — slanderous accusations that were repeated across multiple media and were disseminated internationally — could not be ignored. These additional causes of action buttress Anna Netrebko’s commitment to stand up for her rights and not allowing Gelb to harass her. A decision on Netrebko’s previously submitted Motion for Reconsideration seeking to reinstate two previously dismissed causes of action remains pending.”

The complaint was filed after Peter Gelb went on a media blitz in Austria and Ukraine in July making new claims about Netrebko and her relationship with Putin. He first suggested that the soprano had conversations with the Kremlin before she released her third statement against the war on March 30, 2022. He then went on to say that “she condemned the war purely out of expediency and only after the Met had fired her.” However, Netrebko made her first statement against the war on Feb. 26, 2022 opposing the war and according to the Met’s original press release, she “withdrew” from her performances of “Turandot” and “Don Carlo” on March 3, 2022.

Gelb also criticized the Palm Beach Opera for hiring the soprano and said it was an “unfortunate decision.”

Netrebko is currently performing at the Arena di Verona in a production of “Nabucco” and is set to return to the Royal Opera House this fall where she will open the season in a new production of “Tosca.” She is also set to return to the Zurich Opera for a new production of “La Forza del Destino” and will make her role debut as Amelia in “Un Ballo in Maschera” at the Teatro San Carlo.