Anna Netrebko

Anna Yuryevna Netrebko, born September 18, 1971 (age 38) in Krasnodar, Russia, is an operatic soprano. She now holds dual Russian and Austrian citizenship and currently resides in Vienna. [...]

In 2003, Netrebko released her first studio album, Opera Arias, which became one of the best selling classical recordings of the year. [...]

Anna Netrebko and tenor Erwin Schrott (husband)

Anna Netrebko - official site

Good Morning America interview (vid)

Classical BRIT Awards - red carpet interview (vid)

Anna Netrebko - blog






CD: Souvenirs
When I hear Anna Netrebko sing, live, I don’t want her to stop...Netrebko, on a good night, offers intoxication…given a choice, or offered a ticket, I’d take Netrebko over anyone out there, any time.
- Anne Midgette, Gramophone
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LA BOHEME
La Boheme: Preview of the Film
THE pairing of one of the most beloved operas of all time with a contemporary “dream team” of singers sets the stage for a silver screen romantic blockbuster. Released theatrically in October, the lush new film version of La Bohème makes its U.S. television debut on Great Performances during the holiday season – a perfect fit, given the first two acts of the plot unfold on Christmas Eve. [...]

A STELLAR review in Opera News raves: “It’s probably fair to say that this Bohème is one of the best filmic realizations of an opera since Francesco Rosi’s 1984 Carmen. Although the entire production was filmed within the confines of studio sound-stages, it is very much a movie, rather than an embalmed theater presentation. [The] camera sweeps the viewer right into the center of the action with decisive tracking shots and intimate close-ups; languid dissolves, superimpositions and subtle split-screen effects emphasize the sensuality of the plot, and of Puccini’s score.”

Discussing the differences between live performance and film, Netrebko remarks, “…the camera is very intimate. It’s coming really close to you. Your expressions…the eyes opening, the mouth, it’s reduced here to minimal. But instead of that, you have to put a lot inside your eyes, so you have the expression inside yourself.”

The theatrical film is helmed by director Robert Dornhelm, Oscar nominee for The Children of Theater Street and more recently Karajan, or Beauty as I See It, which aired on Great Performances in August 2009, offering a fascinating career retrospective of the great conductor Herbert von Karajan on the occasion of his 100th birthday. [...]

COMMENTS
[PBS.org]
I HAVE seen La Boheme many times , but this performance envelopes one into the soul of the story more than I dreamed possible. Anna Netrebko and Roland Villazon were so believable in their roles and their voices divine.

I WAS moved deeply, by this intimate version of La Boheme, beautifully done.
The connection and passion between the two performers, is incredibly real, emotions exuding off the screen. Everyone should experience this .

I HAVE just watched this opera on Great Performances. La Boheme is one of my two favorite operas and I’ve seen it performed in Rome, Venice, New York and elsewhere but this is the most riveting performance I’ve ever seen. Anna Netrebko as Mimi and Rolando Villazón as Rodolfo sing superbly in a match made in heaven.

WHITE subtitles against white snow: Brilliant!

ALL I really waited for was ” Quando m’en vo” and then I never found out who sang Musetta. Poor show. Insulting to the other singers.

I TUNED in just as the overture was finishing. I came to your website to find the credits for the best realization of La Boheme that I have heard or seen. You have disappointed me. You can still fix this!

MANY people are wondering who was in the cast besides Netrebko and Villazon. It is almost an IMPOSSIBILITY to find them anywhere, but this is what I discovered after a tedious search:
Nicole Cabell (Musetta), George Von Bergen (Marcello), Adrian Erod (Schaunard). Other cast members included Stephane Degout, Boaz Daniel, Tiziano Bracci. If any of these are in error, please correct me.

THANK you PBS for the broadcast of such a beautiful story with song. At least regular folk here in the country have a way of enjoying classical performances without going to the opera itself and paying through the nose for what may be some very bad performances!

FILMED opera sometime can be an oxymoron. You can do a lot of things otherwise impossible to be done in an opera stage. Sure all the dramatic effects are obvious in this production, but you can also tend to notice flaws, such as poor dubbing, overacted characters. I think the director just wanted to profit from one of most bankable opera couples at that time, dubbed with recording, and voila! a mediocre production. Poor Mr. Villazon, the camera seems not to love him during close ups…

Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón

Great Performances interview (vid)

"Mimi is fatally ill."

"It's for your love that I stopped feeling lonely."

Anna Netrebko Graces the Silver Screen
ANNA Netrebko is a reluctant movie star. She’s graced the big screen for the past three years in The Met: Live in HD Broadcasts, and now she’s about to star in a fully fledged feature—La Bohème, due to open at movie theaters around the United States on September 23. But still, Netrebko reminds me, she’s first and foremost a soprano. “Movie star? The words are too big.”

Well, we’ll see. The camera never lies and it happens to love her dark brown eyes, flowing tresses and undeniable charisma. (She’s presciently been called “Audrey Hepburn with a voice.”) Combine that with her celebrated soprano voice and surely it all adds up to something a little starry and sumptuous.

Still, the 38-year-old Russian admits there is something cinematic about La Bohème that lends itself to the fast-paced editing of a movie. “There are so many phrases, here, there and everywhere,” she says. “Only the camera can capture it.” [...]