Digital Journal — Anna Netrebko is bigger than Luciano Pavarotti — figuratively, not physically. Think that’s hyperbole? Name another opera star who has sold more music video DVDs in Europe than Britney Spears and Beyonce. No current soprano has her perfect package of voice, presence, charm and glamour.
While Netrebko is gaining attention for her sultry beauty, it’s her singing that has won over critics. The Japan Times applauded the Russian’s “alluring lyric coloratura and rich Slavic lower register” and a reviewer in Vienna said Netrebko “brought together everything that opera fans could until now only dream of.” She’s a unique blend of the old and new schools — her golden voice satisfies the purists, and her extreme “hottiness” and devil-may-care attitude captures the MTV generation.
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You won’t catch Netrebko cloaking her neck with a scarf or huddling beside a humidifier like other prima donnas. She’s a party girl who’ll live any way she wants. One night will find her dancing at a club, despite the second-hand smoke. Another night she’ll hang out at Placido Domingo’s house, eating paella and socializing with other singers until dawn.
She’s addicted to coffee, dances to salsa on weekends and maxes out her credit cards on fashion ranging from Marc Jacobs to pre-ripped jeans. Some of her favourite bands are Green Day and Black Eyed Peas.
“My Humps” is a long way off from an aria, but Netrebko loves to fly in the face of convention. It could be that unique quality that compelled the Metropolitan Opera in New York to sign Netrebko to a contract through to 2010. She recently took the role of the vivacious young widow Norina in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, and she’ll also perform in Vienna, Salzburg and Japan.
How far she’s come. In classic Cinderella style, Netrebko was cleaning floors at St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre four years ago when she decided to audition for a minor opera role. The music director, Valery Gergiev, was so impressed with her voice he took her on a world tour, and the rest is history.
Get ready for Netrebko’s world of opera — complete with an hourglass figure, striking vocal range, and an unmistakable allure. Now, the show’s not over till the beautiful lady sings.
ANNA’S NOTES
- Russian media labelled Netrebko a “traitor” after she applied for Austrian citizenship this year
- In December 2005, Netrebko cancelled her Carnegie Hall recital debut, claiming she wasn’t ready to perform solo material
- Netrebko’s big break came on July 22, 2002, when she performed the role of Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni in Salzburg, Austria
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