Protesters target Royal Opera House over performance by ‘Putin’s diva’
Dozens of protesters have gathered outside the Royal Opera House to demonstrate against an eminent Russian opera singer nicknamed “Putin’s diva” who performed on the opening night of Tosca,Anna Netrebko, 53, one of the world’s best-known sopranos, who draws full houses for her performances at leading opera houses globally, has denied being an ally of the Russian leader,She was ostracised by most major opera houses in the months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, despite releasing a statement unequivocally condemning the conflict,Netrebko, who has not performed in Russia since 2022, was given a People’s Artist award in 2008 by Vladimir Putin,The crowd of about 50 protesters congregated outside the central London venue included Natalia Filatova, 48, who was wrapped in the Ukrainian flag.
She told the Guardian: “I’ve been living in London for 21 years,I used to love the Royal Opera House and everything that they did but the decision is a disgrace,There are so many great opera singers, it doesn’t have to be a question,I think it’s a disgrace,“I think it has damaged the image of the Royal Opera.
I don’t understand how [this] theatre can be a royal theatre when this country has been supporting Ukraine since day one.”Oleksandra Vietrova, 43, held a sign that read: “Behind the curtain, blood and tanks”.She said she attended because “unfortunately, all the polite communication didn’t bring any results”.The protest finished with a tribute to Ukraine as demonstrators lit yellow candles and gave a rendition of the national anthem, Shche ne vmerla Ukrainy.Last month, more than 50 Ukrainian writers and artists, a cross-party group of UK MPs and former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark urged the Royal Ballet and Opera (RBO) to drop Netrebko from its new London season, describing her as a “longtime symbol of cultural propaganda for a regime that is responsible for serious war crimes”.
In a letter, the group argued the RBO faced a “defining choice: between status and responsibility, between profit and values, between silence and conscience”, adding: “We urge you to remain, as you consistently have, on the ethical side of art – and of history.”The RBO has said as a “singer’s house” it has a duty to showcase the greatest performers, adding that Netrebko has condemned the invasion.A number of other major opera houses across Europe have featured the Russian soprano in the past two years.Her general manager, Miguel Esteban, said she had “never shown support for Russian separatists” and had condemned the war in three social media statements and two interviews.She had not returned to Russia since the full-scale invasion, he added.
In 2014 Netrebko made a donation to Donetsk’s opera house after Russia seized the city, and she was photographed holding the separatist flag of “Novorossiya” with a pro-Kremlin former Ukrainian politician.She later said did not understand what the flag meant.Netrebko has said that she “acknowledges and regrets that past actions or statements of mine could have been misinterpreted”, and that she has only met Putin “a handful of times”.Earlier this month the RBO pulled its production of Tosca at the Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv after almost 200 members signed an open letter criticising the organisation’s stance on Gaza.
The ‘war on drugs’ has failed. There’s another way to solve the US fentanyl crisis | Letter
Your editorial on the so-called war on drugs (Donald Trump is turning a failed metaphor into a more dangerous reality, 7 September) is correct: the extrajudicial killing of alleged drug traffickers will not solve the US fentanyl crisis.Anyone who has followed past attempts to militarise drug law enforcement will know that such efforts are bound to fail. For instance, despite billions in military and counternarcotics assistance by successive US administrations, Colombia now produces more cocaine than ever before, flooding a rapidly growing market.Similarly, hard-hitting military responses in one country have pushed the problem across borders. Ecuador and Brazil have experienced significant surges in drug trafficking and crime as a result of Colombia’s (unsuccessful) crackdowns
Downing Street says Starmer still has ‘confidence in his top team’ after Rayner and Mandelson departures – as it happened
Downing Street said Keir Starmer still had confidence in his “top team” follow questions over his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, who was reported to have lobbied for Peter Mandelson’s initial appointment.Education secretary Bridget Phillipson, and the ousted cabinet minister Lucy Powell, are set to be the two candidates for Labour’s deputy leadership as other candidates struggled to get the minimum number of nominations. On Wednesday evening, Phillipson had the backing of 116 MPs and Powell had 77 nominations, three short of the required 80.The chairwoman of parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee has written to the foreign secretary demanding answers on the vetting process for Peter Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to the US. Emily Thornberry wrote to Yvette Cooper, who took over as foreign secretary after the cabinet reshuffle, asking for clarification on what security concerns were raised during the process and how the Foreign Office responded to those concerns
Labour deputy contender Lucy Powell calls for culture change at No 10
Lucy Powell has called for a “change of culture” inside Keir Starmer’s Downing Street to make it more inclusive and better connected to MPs, promising that as Labour’s deputy leader she would when needed deliver difficult truths to the prime minister.Speaking to the Guardian after she secured 117 MP nominations in the battle to replace Angela Rayner, Powell said a sequence of what she called “unforced errors” by the government had left many Labour MPs and members frustrated.Powell now faces a vote of party members against Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, who reached 175 endorsements and is viewed as No 10’s preferred choice to take on the role.Powell was Commons leader until she was sacked from the government in last week’s reshuffle, a decision she said was a complete shock, and for which she had as yet received no explanation.She said she believed it could be because she sometimes passed on MPs’ concerns to Downing Street, and that if elected she would hope to continue such a “shop steward” role, making the government less factional and closed-off
Starmer urged to do more to push back against ‘onslaught of racism’
Senior Labour MPs and the UK’s largest anti-fascist campaign group have called on Keir Starmer to mount a more heartfelt defence of diversity and anti-racism. They say they fear that Labour is not yet putting its “heart and soul” into the battle against Nigel Farage and the far right.Hope Not Hate’s chief executive has written a letter to Starmer in the lead up to a planned far-right demonstration in London on Saturday, demanding the prime minister speak up more against hate and racism.In the letter, Nick Lowles said: “Hate breeds when those in power are silent. I implore you and other ministers to speak out urgently in defence of our migrant communities and our multicultural society more generally
Share your question for the Labour party deputy leadership candidates
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson, and the ousted cabinet minister Lucy Powell, are set to be the two candidates for Labour’s deputy leadership as other candidates struggled to get the minimum number of nominations.On Wednesday evening, Phillipson had the backing of 116 MPs and Powell had 77 nominations, three short of the required 80.Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Paula Barker received support from fewer than 15 MPs, with Emily Thornberry announcing on Thursday she had withdrawn from the race. The communities minister Alison McGovern pulled out on Wednesday afternoon and endorsed Phillipson.The ballot for members to vote will open on Wednesday 8 October and they will have until Thursday 23 October to have their say
Sir Robert Worcester obituary
On the morning of 16 March 1976, Robert Worcester – universally known as “Bob” – received the phone call that converted him from the head of a little-known market research company into the public face of polling in Britain. The call was from Harold Evans, the editor of the Sunday Times. Harold Wilson had just announced his retirement as prime minister. Evans wanted to find out whom voters wanted as the next Labour leader. Who better to conduct the survey than Labour’s own private pollster: Worcester himself?The poll, showing James Callaghan well ahead, provided the front-page lead for the following Sunday’s paper
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