The director of the Hungarian Opera House, Sylvester Okovach, rejected the official demand of the Ambassador of Ukraine, ethnic Hungarian Fyodor Sandor, to ban the gala concert of the Russian opera singer Anna Netrebko in Budapest.

Sandor accused Netrebko of supporting the policies of Russian President Vladimir Putin and anti-European propaganda.

In response, Okovac praised Sandor’s impeccable Hungarian, but noted that opera art is outside politics, and Netrebko is one of the greatest opera singers in the world. He also expressed his joy that this would be the ninth performance of the Hungarian Opera Orchestra with the Russian prima.

@fsk_today