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Ukrainian foreign ministry irritated by Russian singer Netrebko’s return to Berlin Opera

According to the statement, the Ukrainian embassy in Berlin started "working" to prevent Netrebko from returning to the stage in Berlin immediately after news of her return were made public

MOSCOW, September 15. /TASS/. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed its dissatisfaction over the Berlin Opera’s decision to resume cooperation with Russian signer Anna Netrebko, suspended last May over the conflict in Ukraine.

"The voice of Ukraine in Germany must always be louder than Anna Netrebko’s soprano," the Ukrainian ministry said on its page on Facebook (banned in Russia as it’s owned by Meta Corporation, which is designated as extremist in Russia).

According to the statement, the Ukrainian embassy in Berlin started "working" to prevent Netrebko from returning to the stage in Berlin immediately after news of her return were made public.

"Regrettably, our arguments were not convincing enough for the German state opera," the ministry added.

When Netrebko will premiere on the Berlin Opera stage on Friday evening, Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Alexey Makeyev will visit an anti-Russian exhibition, which opened near the theater. Moreover, the ambassador published a joint article with a German member of the European Parliament, criticizing Netrebko and the Russian society in general.

The Berlin State Opera announced in late August that it was planning to resume its cooperation with Netrebko. The Rusisan singer would return to the Staatsoper Berlin in a revival of a production of Macbeth, the statement says.