CD Review
Various: Opera Arias, Anna Netrebko, soprano
- Composer
- Various
- Artist
- Anna Netrebko, soprano; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / Noseda
- Label
- Deutsche Grammophon
- Catalogue
- 474 240-2
- Reviewed by
- Anne McAlister
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 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 preceding 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 there are no complaints about her Italian. DG have done well to capture Netrebko, she must surely be one of the stars of the future.
A note on this page
The original mmmusic site published this exact review under two separate legacy URLs (/reviews/cdreviews/netrebkooperaarias.html and /reviews/cdreviews/moresongsallen.html) with the identical text but two different reviewer credits. Rather than publish the same review twice under two names, we’ve kept the version attributed on the page whose filename matches the recording, and consolidated both into this one page, the second legacy URL still needs adding to the site’s general redirect configuration so it points here rather than 404ing.
Questions about this recording
How did Anna Netrebko come to sign with Deutsche Grammophon?
After her acclaimed 1995 San Francisco Opera debut as Lyudmila in Glinka's Ruslan and Lyudmila, she recorded that role and Prokofiev's Betrothal in a Monastery for Philips under Valery Gergiev before DG signed her to an exclusive contract, this disc was the first release under that deal.
Which composers' arias are included on this disc?
Mozart, Berlioz, Massenet, Donizetti, Bellini, Gounod, Dvořák and Puccini, including Donna Anna's rondo from Don Giovanni, Lucia's mad-scene aria, and Musetta's Waltz from La Bohème.
Who did Netrebko work with to prepare this repertoire?
Soprano Renata Scotto, with especial emphasis on phrasing and colour over the preceding year, reflected, the review notes, in the fine sense of line she brings to the arias.
Is this recording still available to buy?
Yes, Deutsche Grammophon's catalogue number 474 240-2 remains findable through classical retailers. We don't run an in-house shop, so we link out to Amazon and Discogs below.
