“Guilt is the halo of decency and high spirituality”: Netrebko, opera stars and theater critics argue whether artists can swear

Opera singer, soloist of the Mariinsky Theater Elena Stikhina on her Instagram said that she swears in everyday life and cannot stand “toxic” moralizing statements that ministers of culture should not do this. The soloist’s subscribers were divided into two camps.

“People do not accept themselves for who they are and try to appear more spiritual. Even though they are not even close. So it turns out that they deceive themselves and others. They get used to wearing masks and after that they themselves do not know where their real face is. This halo of “decency” and “high spirituality” that was assigned to the opera is to blame for everything. But theater is about feelings. About ordinary feelings of earthly people, about love, jealousy, passion, envy, hatred… The theater is not a church!” Stikhina wrote. She added that many singers just seem like people who don’t swear, don’t drink, don’t smoke, and don’t have sex.

“It’s like a successful success on Instagram and an ideal picture of the world that doesn’t exist,” summed up Stikhina. – I swear in life, but I know where it can be used and where not. I don’t want to deceive you by pretending to be a celestial. I’m just a person like everyone else.”

The singer was supported by opera diva Anna Netrebko:

“These highly spiritual people are not theater people. They would like to be. But the lack of talent was replaced by bile. And this “spirituality” of theirs is decadence,” she wrote.

Other colleagues of Stikhina in the theater department also spoke in favor of sincerity:

“In Europe, in permanent opera ensembles, there is a completely different attitude towards colleagues, ourselves and what we do. More friendly and human.”

“Adequate people do not confuse politeness and holiness. This is true for any profession. Folk fun: to be fascinated and disappointed in doctors, teachers, actors and volunteers,” others added, noting that the behavior of the opera attendants is their own business.

“Artists in the cut are far from the intellectual elite, a fact. Being yourself is a luxury that only people who are truly talented and deep can afford, whose scale of personality overlaps the need to assert themselves by trying to seem better than they are, ”said another user.

“But this arrogance grows back at the Conservatory. So you walk a simple soul among kings, kings and emperors, ”the subscriber recalled the days of his studies.

The opinion of the other camp was categorically presented by an art critic, journalist Vadim Zhuravlev:

“When Stikhina proudly declares once again that she knows how to swear, I want to add: no one doubted your abilities. It is enough to hear your speech and intonation in general. Something they are all crazy about it! I want to swear, swear. But why write about it all the time? Are there no other problems? Are you eating like a bird of the sky?

The critic added that in theatrical buffets it is immediately clear that there can be no question of any spirituality of the artists.

“And what about the intellectuals, who at home for several generations did not swear, were comprehensively educated and with good taste? Should I also keep up with the times or remain myself? — subscribers asked Stikhina skeptically. The singer stressed that she only wants there to be less hypocrisy. She was supported by subscribers, noting that mat, education and good taste are still compatible. However, sometimes the viewer’s expectations and reality do not really match.

“I remember taking a friend backstage during a ballet… and breaking his heart forever. From the stage, backstage, a beautiful creature jumps out, which just divinely danced Giselle. He falls and asks with a three-story obscenity: “Which *** saved on Coca-Cola? *** You can kill yourself! Coke then wiped the stage so that it would stick and the ballet would not slip. My friend then stopped “believing in Santa Claus,” a subscriber shared his story.