Various composers: Opera Arias, Anna Netrebko, soprano

Born in 1972, Russian lyric soprano Anna Netrebko burst on to the international stage with her wildly acclaimed San Francisco Opera debut as Lyudmila in Glinka’s Ruslan and Lyudmila in 1995. Since then she has recorded that and Prokofiev’s Betrothal in a Monastery for Philips under Valery Gergiev, but little else. DG stepped in last year to sign her on an exclusive contract, and the first product is this stunning disc of arias by Mozart, Berlioz, Massenet, Donizetti, Bellini, Gounod, Dvořák and Puccini.

Netrebko has worked intensively with Renata Scotto on this repertoire over the last year, with especial emphasis on phrasing and colour, and this shows in the fine sense of line she brings to all the arias, the opening phrase of Donna Anna’s rondo from Don Giovanni being especially beautifully sung. Her voice is more beautiful than Scotto’s; the many high notes (including a stunning top D as Donizetti’s Lucia) have the quality of gleaming pearl rather than brittle diamond. This creamy pearliness of tone extends throughout her range; it never becomes squally or shrill, but can certainly thrill.

In her booklet interview, Netrebko confesses to relishing characters with bite and colour, breadth and depth. She excels in her portrayals of Massenet’s Manon and Marguerite from Gounod’s Faust, while Puccini’s Musetta from La Bohème could have been written for her. Her French pronunciation does require attention (even following the text it was sometimes difficult to distinguish which words she was singing), but I have no complaints about her Italian. DG have done well to capture Netrebko, she must surely be one of the stars of the future. Deutsche Grammophon remains one of classical music’s most prominent recording labels, and a debut recital as confidently sung as this one is exactly the kind of disc collectors keep coming back to.