In the October 2004 issue of BBC Music magazine, Amanda Holloway writes:
The phrase most often used of Anna Netrebko is a 'package': stunning looks, acting ability and a gorgeous, effortless lyric soprano voice.
The following is a profile of Netrebko courtesy of the Mariinsky.
Born in Krasnodar. Graduated from the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatoire, St Petersburg, in 1995 and trained with San Francisco Opera. Joined the Mariinsky Theatre in 1994. Took part in a concert dedicated to the opening of the Irina Arkhipova Foundation at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow (1993).
Awards include first prize at the Glinka Vocal Competition (Moscow, 1993), prize winner of the International Rimsky-Korsakov Vocal Competition (St Petersburg, 1996), laureate of the BALTIKA prize for Young Opera Singers (St Petersburg, 1997) and laureate of the St Petersburg Golden Sophit theatre prize (1999).
Repertoire includes:
Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Lyudmila (Ruslan and Lyudmila), Ksenia (Boris Godunov), Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Pamina (Die Zauberflote), Luisa (Betrothal in a Monastery), Klingsor's Flower Maid (Parsifal), Natasha Rostova (War and Peace), Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor), Antonia (Les Contes d'Hoffmann), Musetta (La boheme), Ilia (Idomeneo), Adina (L'elisir d'amore), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Teresa (Benvenuto Cellini), Giulietta (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Violetta (La traviata).
Recordings include Ruslan and Lyudmila (audio-video recording with Philips Classics and RM Arts), Betrothal in a Monastery (audio-video project with Philips Classics, NHK Tokyo and Euroarts).
Her BBC debut in 1996 with Valery Gergiev and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra was also broadcast on television. Has toured with the Mariinsky Theatre thoughout Europe, Israel, the USA, Japan and Great Britain.
In the summer of 1998, she made her debut at the Salzburg Summer Festival, singing in concert performances of Parsifal with the Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of Maestro Gergiev. Anna Netrebko performs at the world's major opera houses. Since her debut at the San Francisco Opera House in 1995, Anna Netrebko has become a frequent guest artist there. In the 1999-2000 season she took part in performances of Le nozze di Figaro, Betrothal in a Monastery, Idomeneo and La boheme. In the 1999-2000 season, she made her debut with Washington Opera as Gilda (Rigoletto).
Took part in a concert performance of Benvenuto Cellini with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Gergiev at the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam) and the Royal Festival Hall (London). Has participated in the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (2000), where she performed works by Bach and Hendel.
In the 2000-2001 season at the San Francisco Opera and Washington Opera she sang Musetta (La boheme), Ilia (Idomeneo), Adina (L'elisir d'amore), Nanetta (Falstaff), Marfa (The Tsar's Bride) and Zerlina (Don Giovanni). The same year, Anna Netrebko made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera (Natasha Rostova in a Mariinsky Theatre production of War and Peace) and Philadelphia Opera (Giulietta in I Capuleti e i Montecchi).
Recommended Recordings: