Anna Netrebko: Opera Arias

She's not a true coloratura, at least not a very good one. I have and love her "sempre libera" album. Her mad scene from Lucia (though she slides to the 1st top note) made me involuntarily think the word "magnificent!". But in this album (and on reflection, the other one too), she's just a soprano. A very good one, but she's no Tetrazzini or Mesple or Sutherland or Jo. She belongs in Verdi, not in Donizetti. On the other hand, if all you want is good straight singing (Rosa Ponselle), and don't care about the ornamentation and pyrotechnics, you will probably like this album. I was disappointed.

I'm not a big opera fan -- have listened sporadically for decades. Every once in a while I newly discover a singer, or a crop of them, and that spurs me to rediscover the wonders of the repertoire. Listening to Anna Nebrebko reminds me of the experience I had when Montserrat Caballe burst on the scene, which will date me for the knowledgeable reader (who will also realize I'm 8 or 10 years behind the present wave with the present singer). This CD presents warhorses as well as some repertoire that's both a little more arcane and more challenging, all from the lyrical and/or bel canto world. Although the performances are not perfect, every moment is gorgeous, and not just the singing. It takes me hours to listen to this CD as well as her "Sempre Libera" because each excerpt is some variety of showstopper. I generally prefer another species of soprano voice (Natalie Dessay), even in the repertoire here, but for those who love a dark, dramatic, and most often very agile voice, you can't go wrong with this collection. I dismiss quibbles about her pronunciation in non-Slavic languages; her dramatic sense does not flag, at least for me, and her vowels have a musical value that merely starts with the language. I highly recommend this CD.

Unlike the passion, intimacy, and beautiful tone Netrebko brought to the Russian Album, the Opera Arias miss these wonderful qualities. There's room at the top for a new operatic power couple and the glamorous Netrebko and rising Mexican tenor Rolando Villazon are desperate to seize. I confess that there is an element of conviction in Netrebko's voice, a significant figure in Russia for more than a decade. No sooner had she arrived on the world stage, her "hype" started describing her as the new Callas, which she isn't, and suspect will never be. She may have the temperament of Callas and her petulance, but vocally the comparison just is not there! In the magnificant arias from Mozart to Puccini, Netrebko shows a lack of being able to convey the utmost of subtleties, and injecting every aria with the personality of the character she was assuming. Netrebko crashes through everything, with a glorious voice capable of conveying the the justice of both dramatic and lyric arias, but with minimal vocal characterization. Netrebko is at times very capable of expressing genuine emotion in her singing as heard in the Russian CD with music from her homeland. Netrebko is capable of becoming a most formidable artist if she continues to learn; especially if she works hard on the Italian and French repertoire as she demonstrates in her Russian work, and with the watchful direction of the Marlinsky's Valery Gergiev. In that regard it's encouraging to hear she's preparing for an important Bellini run at the Met with Renata Scotto. Her Russian aria was fine, but her Gounod aria seems to wash away from its inner qualities, not helped by some disturbing French.
Netrebko is without doubt, an inspiring, extremely talented artist, and with the experience and maturity her voice will command in the future, she will rise to the occasion of becoming one of the world's greatest 21st century singers!

If you like opera, if you like the lyric soprano, if the vocal range of the colortura causes goose bumps to rise, Anna Netrebko is a must. Roberta Peters, Beverly Sills, Anna Moffo, Joan Southerland, Maria Callas, she takes a back seat to none of them,she sits he front seat with the best of them and guess what? She is beautiful too.

Her voice takes my breath away, I fell in love with her.
I highly reccomend it.