(Credit: T. Kolesnikov)

Asmik Grigorian has clarified her vaccine status following comments she made during an interview with The Times U.K.

The Lithuanian soprano took to social media and noted, “I’m vaccinated. I chose to get vaccinated. In my recent interview with ‘The Times,’ I said that I don’t like to be forced into getting vaccinated in order to do my job. This is true. It doesn’t mean that I am against the vaccine.”

She added, “As I had already had COVID-19, I had antibodies, and I followed the health protocols (tests and masks) that opera houses have put in place. I have the utmost respect for my colleagues and the organizations I work with. This being said, my choice to get vaccinated was personal. I did it because I think today it is the best way to live my life, not for my contracts at the Met or The Royal Opera House… I normally would not justify or explain myself, but when I see my quote from an interview being interpreted and extrapolated upon I wanted to hopefully make my thoughts clear.”

She concluded her response by asking “all to be careful to come together and support each other, and rather than creating more conflict.”

In the original article the soprano said, “I don’t like to be pushed, I don’t like to be forced to do anything. If someone says ‘vaccinate or you can’t sing at the Met’ … then I’m not going to do that.”

Following the publication of the interview, outlets  reported that the soprano was not vaccinated and speculated that the reason she would not appear at the Metropolitan Opera for five years was due to her unvaccinated status.

Grigorian recently performed at the Salzburg Festival and Bayreuth Festival and is slated to perform at the Royal Opera, Bolshoi Theatre, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, and Wiener Staatsoper this fall.