(Credit: Olga Rubio Dalmau)

The Ukrainian association “Point of Ukraine” is calling for the cancelation of Anna Netrebko’s August 23 Linz concert to be canceled.

The organization, which is made up of students and employees of the Johannes Kepler University Linz as well as citizens of the Republic of Austria, said in a letter that Netrebko has been on Ukraine’s sanctions list since 2023 and that the concert will take place on the eve of Ukraine’s Independence Day.

The authors of the letter also added that there will be many visitors to Linz’s main square, where it will be celebrated.

The Ukrainian ambassador to Austria Vasyl Chymynez also noted that Netrebko’s planned appearance was a “slap in the face of all Ukrainians who have become victims of Russian aggression” and noted that “a boycott of Anna Netrebko would be a just response from the free world to Russian aggression.”

The Linz organizer Simon Ertl has already come to the defense of their decision to not cancel the concert and stated, “We condemn the Russian war of aggression and nothing is further from our mind than trivializing what is happening. Nevertheless, as organizers we are faced with the difficult situation of having to meet contractual obligations and liabilities and at the same time we are fully convinced that art and culture can have a positive influence as a unifying element. ”

He added, “There will undoubtedly be five top-class singers on stage – from different backgrounds and with different personal stories. These artists were hired because of their extraordinary abilities as singers, not because of their (political) orientation. Together they form a musical unity that will hopefully touch many people. Suspending the planned concert would silence this power of music.”

Nertebko has condemned the war in Ukraine on three occasions and is a taxpayer in Austria, where she resides.

The Linz concert will be a celebration of Puccini and will showcase the soprano alongside Yusif Eyvazov, Daria Ryak, and Jerome Boutillier.