Jonas Kaufmann is getting candid about politics in a recent interview he did in Austria during the summer festival at the Tiroler Festspiele Erl.

When asked about Russian cancellations, the tenor said, “There are exceptional cases where artists have strongly engaged in political activities with their names.”

Regarding soprano Anna Netrebko, the tenor defended her and even revealed that he had tried to organize U.S. concerts with her, but promoters declined. He said, “This doesn’t apply to Anna Netrebko, because you’re about to ask me that. I’ve liked and known her for many years, and I can still say that she acted somewhat clumsily. But at some point, it has to end, be forgiven, and forgotten. She’s caught between two stools, branded a Russian propagandist by the West and, at the same time, a traitor by the Russians.”

He added, “She’s lost major venues. And it will stay that way. I was just trying to organize a concert in the US with a friend, in which she would have participated. The promoter declined. Stepping away from political life and concentrating on art is no longer acceptable. You constantly have to make a statement; that’s also the result of social media, where you’re constantly expected to produce something.”

When asked about anti-semitism and the Israeli government, the tenor differentiated hate speech from the government and said “I would differentiate. Anti-Semitic hate speech must be strongly condemned, but now we’re talking about Israel. I believe that over 50 percent of the world’s Jewish population isn’t exactly amused by the decisions being made there. However, we Germans and Austrians must refrain from criticism after what was done here. And in any case, it’s insane how what Daniel Barenboim built with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra is now being destroyed again.”

He did note that due to the uncertain conditions in Israel, he would not be singing. Regarding the U.S., he said that he would fulfill the concerts and said that he did not believe that anyone would care about his boycotting the concerts.

In the interview, Kaufmann also noted that he was not doing new productions at the moment because of his hectic schedule as Artistic Director of Tiroler Festspiele Erl. He also added that he was not sure about becoming a General Director at the moment, as he was enjoying his singing career.