Anna Netrebko performed at the Royal Opera House in London, delivering a recital that combined high camp with bel canto brilliance. The Russian soprano, accompanied by pianist Pavel Nebolsin and violinist Kurt Mitterfellner, moved from Rachmaninov to Mozart, Strauss to Charpentier, showcasing the full range of her voice's plush dark beauty and endless legato.
Performance Highlights
No programme was announced in advance, but the sold-out house of over 2,000 fans was treated to a crowd-pleasing set themed around day and night. The first half featured trembling girlish ardour and spring abundance, with Netrebko roaming the stage, caressing Mitterfellner's violin during his obbligato solo, shielding her face from the sun in Rimsky-Korsakov's The Snow Maiden, and wandering in imagined meadows with mezzo Elena Maximova in Lakmé's Flower Duet.
Voice and Style
Despite occasional lapses of taste, such as Strauss's 'Ständchen' lurching and swaying, Netrebko's voice remains the real deal. In Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky songs, it swells irresistibly with plush dark beauty and endless legato, then shifts to silvery bel canto brilliance in Bellini, and fires up to blazing full-power in Gounod or Charpentier. Netrebko's fun and permission for the audience to enjoy themselves were evident, especially in an encore of the closet scene from Figaro, where she bundled Maximova's Cherubino out of the window with gleeful urgency.
Reception
Protests that greeted her controversial return to the Royal Opera in Tosca last autumn were absent; the streets were quiet, and only cheers filled the house. Netrebko's recital, substantially toured over the past five years, confirmed her status as the most famous soprano of her generation.
