Peter Gelb: Last News

Anita Rachvelishvili was contracted to perform various shows at the legendary Manhattan opera, including “Aida,” “La Gioconda,” “Carmen” and “Don Carlo” from 2022 to 2025 — a deal worth upwards of $400,000.But instead of using her “sonorous voice” to belt out the famed works, the opera cancelled her remaining performances in January 2023, accusing Rachvelishvili, 40, of “deterioration of vocal quality,” she said in court papers.Rachvelishvili, who gave birth to her daughter in November 2021, admitted she was “temporarily limited in her very highest vocal range” after becoming a mom but said there was never an impact on her work.“She was nonetheless at all times ready, willing and able to perform the roles for which she was contracted,” she said in court papers, noting she has since “recovered her full vocal range.”She claims the Met and the union discriminated against her because she was pregnant.“I loved performing on the Met stage and looked forward to returning after the birth of my first child. I was shocked that I was not given a chance to recover and all of my contracts for the next two years were immediately canceled without pay,” she said in a statement.“After supporting the Met throughout the pandemic, I am disappointed, to say the least, at this harmful treatment.”Rachvelishvili, who hails from the former Soviet republic of Georgia and now lives in Tbilisi, was once heralded as the “greatest dramatic mezzo-soprano” by her Metropolitan Opera boss, Peter Gelb.

Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor In her seven feature films as director, Rebecca Miller has presented indelible, complicated characters rarely seen on the big screen. One of those films, “Arthur Miller: Writer,” was a documentary about the heralded playwright, her father. But the remaining six narrative films were of her own creation — including the titular 10-year-old obsessed with absolving her sins in “Angela,” the three women at the center of “Personal Velocity” and the young mother who schemes to reunite her husband with his ex in “Maggie’s Plan.”As with her characters, the filmmaker has excelled at presenting unique worlds to the viewer.

After 192 performances at the Metropolitan Opera, soprano Anna Netrebko will not be performing this year due to her support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.  The Met made several attempts to convince Netrebko, who has made statements critical of the war, to rebuke Putin but failed to persuade the singer. "It is a great artistic loss for the Met and for opera," General Manager Peter Gelb said in a statement Thursday.

Metropolitan Opera after her support for Vladimir Putin resurfaced amid Russia’s devastating invasion of Ukraine.Netrebko, 50, is one of the opera’s highest grossing box office superstars and her exit is a major blow to the Manhattan cultural establishment.“It is a great artistic loss for the Met and for opera,” Met General Manager Peter Gelb announced in a statement on Thursday. “Anna is one of the greatest singers in Met history, but with Putin killing innocent victims in Ukraine, there was no way forward.”Gelb said last Sunday that the Met would not continue to associate with artists who support Putin.

Anna Netrebko, famous Russian soprano, will be banned from the Metropolitan Opera for the next two seasons after she failed to denounce Vladimir Putin amid his war on Ukraine.

The Metropolitan Opera is canceling the rest of its season and stopping the pay of the orchestra, chorus and other unionized employees at the end of March due to the new coronavirus.The Met last week called off performances through March 31.Met general manager Peter Gelb said he is giving up his $1.45 million salary until normal operations resume and higher-paid members of his administrative staff are having their pay reduced — by 10% for everyone earning more than $125,000 and by 25%-50% at the top of the pay scale.