Brussels opera house drops star over anti-gay ‘faecal masses’ Facebook rant
A Brussels opera house has confirmed that it has dropped an opera star from a planned upcoming performance, over a violent anti-gay rant on her Facebook page.
Georgia-born singer Tamar Iveri – who is currently rehearsing for Opera Australia’s upcoming performance of Othello – had attracted criticism for the rant.
The rant, addressed to the Georgian president, read in part: “I was quite proud of the fact how Georgian society spat at the [pride] parade, organized by your team.
“Often, in certain cases, it is necessary to break jaws in order to be appreciated as a nation in the future, and to be taken into account seriously.
“Please, stop vigorous attempts to bring West’s ‘faecal masses’ in the mentality of the people by means of propaganda.”
She since claimed her “very religious” husband posted the rant on her Facebook account.
La Monnaie Opera in Brussels, which was due to perform with Ivera next year, has since confirmed that she has been dropped.
Peter de Celuwe, general manager of Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, confirmed to OperaNederland that she will no longer be part of the production.
Opera Australia said in a statement: “Opera Australia has become aware in the past 24 hours, of the media and social media coverage of comments reported to have been made by soprano Tamar Iveri.
“Rehearsals and performances at Opera Australia are continuing as planned.”
Spokeswoman Imogen Corlette told The Australian: “This is something that we are taking very seriously”.
