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“Putin's Diva” Anna Netrebko to Perform in Paris at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in 2026
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![Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko]( "Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko")
Russian opera singer Anna Netrebko is scheduled to perform at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris on June 18, 2026, according to the venue’s official website.
Netrebko will appear as a soprano, joined by Russian mezzo-soprano Elena Maximova.
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The concert program will feature works by Vincenzo Bellini and Ruggero Leoncavallo, as well as compositions by Russian composers Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
According to Netrebko’s official website, the Paris performance is part of a broader European tour planned for the coming months, with additional appearances scheduled in Italy, Hungary, Luxembourg, Austria, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain.
Netrebko’s appearances continue to draw criticism across Europe. Despite sustained protests from Ukrainian diplomats, activists, and cultural organizations, she remains a regular presence at leading opera houses.
She is described as part of Russia’s soft power apparatus and accuse Western venues of normalizing Kremlin influence during the war in Ukraine.
While advocacy campaigns have led to cancellations in some countries, major opera houses in the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, and elsewhere have continued to cast her in leading roles.
In September, Netrebko performed in Puccini’s “Tosca” at London’s Royal Opera House, where demonstrators gathered outside with Ukrainian flags and candles, accusing the venue of promoting “Putin’s diva.”
Protesters called for her removal from the program, arguing that her presence on stage “drowns out the real cries—the cries from destroyed maternity hospitals in Mariupol, schools in Kharkiv, kindergartens in Kramatorsk,” according to a statement by Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
The Royal Opera House declined to cancel the performance, stating that casting decisions are based on artistic considerations rather than politics, and pointing to Netrebko’s public opposition to Russia’s full-scale invasion.
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In a 2022 interview with Die Zeit, Netrebko said she could not openly criticize Putin at the time because “he was still the leader of Russia and I was still a Russian citizen.” She added that her role was “fighting against any Russophobia,” and said: “I remain a Russian.”
In September 2025, Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska has criticized the performance of Netrebko at London’s Royal Opera House in an interview with The Times.
“When people see a great performance with a beautiful voice, they think, ‘Wow, maybe the country that brought up such a wonderful singer is not that bad’,” the First Lady said.
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