Metropolitan Opera’s New ‘Lohengrin’ to be Affected by War

By Francisco Salazar

With the Metropolitan Opera cutting ties with Putin-supported musicians and companies, the upcoming “Lohengrin” production will be affected.

Thie staging of the opera, which is a co-production with Russia’s Bolshoi Theatre, was planned back in 2017 alongside upcoming renditions of “Aida” and “Salome.”

In an interview with the New York Times, General Manager Peter Gelb said, “We’re scrambling, but I think we’ll have no choice but to physically build our own sets and costumes.”

He added, “It’s terrible that artistic relationships, at least temporarily, are the collateral damage of these actions by Putin.”

The upcoming “Lohengrin” recently premiered at the Bolshoi Theatre on Feb. 24; Gelb was in attendance to oversee the production.

The Metropolitan Opera is the latest company to break with Putin-supported artists following Carnegie Hall, which canceled all scheduled performances by Valery Gergiev.

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