Anna Netrebko to Sing at Palm Beach Opera Gala

FILE - Soprano Anna Netrebko attends a news conference on the premiere of Manon Lescaut in the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, Russia on Oct. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
FILE - Soprano Anna Netrebko attends a news conference on the premiere of Manon Lescaut in the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, Russia on Oct. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
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Anna Netrebko to Sing at Palm Beach Opera Gala

FILE - Soprano Anna Netrebko attends a news conference on the premiere of Manon Lescaut in the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, Russia on Oct. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
FILE - Soprano Anna Netrebko attends a news conference on the premiere of Manon Lescaut in the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, Russia on Oct. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

Soprano Anna Netrebko is scheduled to give a recital at the Palm Beach Opera for its gala on Feb. 3 in what would be her first US appearance in six years.

Considered the world’s top soprano, Netrebko was dropped by the Metropolitan Opera in 2022 after she refused a demand by Met general manager Peter Gelb that she repudiate Russia President President Vladimir Putin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. She has sued the Met, alleging defamation and breach of contract in a case that is pending, The AP reported.

She has appeared since then at major houses including the Vienna State Opera, Paris Opéra, Milan’s Teatro alla Scala and Berlin’s Staatsoper unter den Linden but had not been engaged in the US or by The Royal Opera in London. She last appeared at the Met in 2019 in Verdi’s “Macbeth.”

Netrebko will perform with pianist Ángel Rodríguez at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.

“I am honored to be lending my voice to the Palm Beach Opera’s annual gala,” Netrebko said in a statement Wednesday sent to The Associated Press.

Palm Beach Opera’s season includes three performances each of Gounod's "Roméo et Juliette" in January, Verdi’s “La Traviata” in February and Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” in April. Casts have not been announced.

Past Palm Beach Opera galas featured Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Renée Fleming and Bryn Terfel, with Isabel Leonard (2024), Piotr Becza³a (2023) and Nadine Sierra (2022) appearing in recent years.

“It means a lot to me to be joining the remarkable list of illustrious singers that have participated in this celebration over the last decades,” Netrebko said.



‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Smashes R-rated Record with $205 Million Debut

FILE PHOTO: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Gigi Hadid and Hugh Jackman attend the premiere of 'Deadpool and Wolverine' in New York City, New York, US, July 22, 2024. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Gigi Hadid and Hugh Jackman attend the premiere of 'Deadpool and Wolverine' in New York City, New York, US, July 22, 2024. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs/File Photo
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‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Smashes R-rated Record with $205 Million Debut

FILE PHOTO: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Gigi Hadid and Hugh Jackman attend the premiere of 'Deadpool and Wolverine' in New York City, New York, US, July 22, 2024. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Gigi Hadid and Hugh Jackman attend the premiere of 'Deadpool and Wolverine' in New York City, New York, US, July 22, 2024. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs/File Photo

Marvel is back on top with “Deadpool & Wolverine.” The comic-book movie made a staggering $205 million in its first weekend in North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday. It shattered the opening record for R-rated films previously held by the first “Deadpool” ($132 million) and notched a spot in the top 10 openings of all time.
Including international showings, where it’s racked up an addition $233.3 million from 52 markets, “Deadpool & Wolverine” is looking at a global opening of over $438.3 million, The Associated Press reported.
Fittingly for both characters’ introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Deadpool & Wolverine” played less like earlier X-Men or Deadpool movies and more like an Avengers pic. In the top domestic opening weekends ever, “Deadpool & Wolverine” is seated in 8th place between “The Avengers” ($207.4 million) and “Black Panther" ($202 million), bumping “Avengers: Age of Ultron” ($191.3 million) out of the top 10.
It’s by far biggest opening of the year, unseating Disney’s “ Inside Out 2 ” ($154.2 million) and the most tickets a movie has sold in its debut weekend since “Barbie” ($162 million) stormed theaters last July. Playing in 4,210 locations, “Deadpool & Wolverine” also surpassed 2019’s “The Lion King” ($191.8 million) to become the biggest July opening ever, and is the 34th consecutive MCU movie to debut in first place. And these are numbers previously thought impossible for an R-rated film.
The Walt Disney Studios release arrived at a pivotal time for an industry grappling with box office returns that continue to run at a double-digit deficit from last year. The success is also an important moment for Marvel Studios, which has had several high-profile disappointments lately; Most notably in “ The Marvels ” which opened to an MCU low of $47 million last November.
Superheroes have been struggling even more elsewhere: Sony, which reached a high point with “Spider-Man: No Way Home” ($1.9 billion worldwide) had a new low with “Madame Web,” which barely crossed $100 million. Warner Bros. Discovery, after a string of disappointments with “The Flash” and “Blue Beetle,” is currently working on restarting their DC universe under the supervision of James Gunn.
Marvel's savior came in the form of two characters who got their start outside of the MCU, and carried a Motion Picture Association rating that seemed to have an earnings cap.
Both Deadpool and Wolverine, played by Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, existed previously under the 21st Century Fox banner which for two decades had the rights to Marvel characters like the “X-Men” and “Fantastic Four.” That changed when Disney acquired the studio’s film and TV assets in early 2019 and plans started to take shape of how all these characters would fit into Kevin Feige’s MCU. In some cases, as with “Fantastic Four,” Marvel Studios is starting fresh. With “Deadpool & Wolverine,” the stars were as crucial as their characters.
Going into the weekend, $200 million domestic seemed like a pipe dream. Analysts were more conservative with predictions in the $160 million range. But from the start of the 3 p.m. Thursday preview screenings it was clear that “Deadpool & Wolverine” was more powerful. By the end of Friday, it had already made $96 million and received a coveted A CinemaScore from audiences. Critics, too, have been mostly positive. Premium screens, including IMAX and other large formats, accounted for 18% of the total box office.
The top domestic opening of all time still firmly belongs to “Avengers: Endgame” with $357.1 million. It’s followed by “Spider-Man: No Way Home” ($260.1 million), “Avengers: Infinity War” ($257.6 million), “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($247.9 million) and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” ($220 million).
Second place went to Universal's “Twisters,” now in its second weekend with $35.3 million. The standalone sequel to “Twister” has now earned $154.9 million in North America. Universal also claimed third place with “Despicable Me 4,” which added $14.2 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its domestic total to nearly $291 million.
“Inside Out 2” landed in fourth place with $8.3 million. The Disney and Pixar release this week became the biggest animated release ever with $613.4 million domestically (surpassing “Incredibles 2”) and $1.5 billion globally. It also passed “Top Gun: Maverick” to become the 12th highest-earning global release of all time.
It all adds up to one of the top 10 domestic grossing weekends of all time, with around $280 million, according to Comscore. That puts it ahead of this weekend last year, when “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” helped propel the box office to over $216.9 million in their second weekends.