Sochi Winter Olympics 2014: Anna Netrebko Will Not Sing at Closing Ceremony

Anna Netrebko will not sing the Olympic anthem at the closing night ceremony of the Sochi Olympics. 

The soprano recently told the press that she was not available for the closing night after many speculated that Netrebko would perform at both the opening and closing ceremonies. 

Netrebko is one of the busiest classical artists today and with her role debut in Puccini's "Manon Lescaut" in Rome coming up in late February, the soprano will most likely be in rehearsals. She will perform the role alongside Yusif Eyvazov with Riccardo Muti conducting. The production will be directed by Chiara Muti and tickets have already sold out.

Accompanied by a men's choir, Netrebko performed the Olympic Anthem for a crowd of nearly 40,000 as the Olympic flag was presented during the ceremony at the Fisht Olympic Stadium.

The Olympic Anthem, also known as the Olympic Hymn, is traditionally performed at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics. The hymn was written by Greek composer Spyridon Samaras and is usually performed in the language of the host country. Netrebko sang the hymn in Russian.

Netrebko recently sang at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in Donizetti's "L'Elisir D'Amore." Earlier in the season she headlined opening night in Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin." The soprano is scheduled perform at the Royal Opera House, Vienna State Opera and Baden Baden in Gounod's "Faust" and will also perform a number of concerts to promote her latest album, "Verdi." Netrebko is also scheduled to perform at the Bayerische Opera in Verdi's "Macbeth" and at the Salzburg in Verdi's "Il Trovatore."