Primus‘ Les Claypool and Gogol Bordello’s Eugene Hütz have shared a tribute song to Eukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky. You can listen to it below.Called ‘Zelensky: The Man With The Iron Balls’, the charity track also features The Police’s Stewart Copeland on drums, John Lennon’s son Sean on guitar and vocals, Hütz’s bandmate Sergey Ryabtseb on violin and Billy Strings on acoustic guitar.The lyrics of the song hear the collective sing: “One person can make a difference/ Be they short, thin, fat, or tall/ That person can live with dignity/ If they stand with some iron balls.”You can listen to the track here:Speaking about the track to Rolling Stone, Hütz, who was born in Ukraine, said: “As soon as Russian aggression broke out, Les and I connected to address the catastrophe ASAP.“We jumped on creating affirmative music that calls for unity and pays respect to the real doers in Ukrainian defence, such as President Zelensky, who demonstrated previously unheard of stamina and heroism.”Claypool said the track “is not intended to be a song of condemnation,” but one of “unity.”All proceeds from the track will go to Nova Ukraine, a non-profit organisation that provides humanitarian relief and support to the people of Ukraine.“It is our way to show that heavyweights like Les, Stewart, Billy, and Sean stand with the people of Ukraine and the country’s sovereignty from the very start of Russian-led terror,” Hütz added.
Dropped by Met, Netrebko to sing at Monte Carlo Opera
15.04.2022 - 04:01 / abcnews.go.com
Soprano Anna Netrebko has been hired by the Monte Carlo Opera to sing this month following the Metropolitan Opera's decision to drop her for failing to repudiate Russia President Vladimir Putin.The Monte Carlo Opera said Thursday that Netrebko will sing the title role in Puccini's “Manon Lescaut” in performances on April 22, 24, 27 and 30. The 50-year-old Russian replaces an originally announced Maria Agresta.Tenor Yusif Eyvazov, Netrebko's husband, is scheduled to sing Des Grieux.Netrebko was to have sung five performances in a revival of Puccini's “Turandot” at the Met in New York from April 30 to May 14.
She was replaced by Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska for Turandot and by Italian soprano Eleonora Buratto for a revival of Verdi's “Don Carlo” at the Met from Nov. 3-19.Netrebko issued a statement in early March that she was “opposed to this senseless war of aggression and I am calling on Russia to end this war right now." She did not directly mention Putin.Netrebko, who is from Krasnodar, received the People’s Artist of Russia honor from Putin in 2008.
She was photographed in 2014 holding a Novorussian flag after giving a 1 million ruble donation (then $18,500) to the opera hose in Donetsk, a Ukrainian city controlled by pro-Russia separatists.She said in late March she met Putin “only a handful of times in my entire life, most notably on the occasion of receiving awards in recognition of my art or at the Olympics opening ceremony.”“I am not a member of any political party nor am I allied with any leader of Russia,” Netrebko said in late March. “I acknowledge and regret that past actions or statements of mine could have been misinterpreted.”
.
Russian soprano Anna Netrebko to sing at Monte Carlo Opera after being dropped by Met Opera
Soprano Anna Netrebko has been hired by the Monte Carlo Opera to sing this month following the Metropolitan Opera's decision to drop her for failing to repudiate Russia President Vladimir Putin. The Monte Carlo Opera said Thursday that Netrebko will sing the title role in Puccini's "Manon Lescaut" in performances on April 22, 24, 27 and 30.The 50-year-old Russian replaces an originally announced Maria Agresta. Tenor Yusif Eyvazov, Netrebko's husband, is scheduled to sing Des Grieux.