Anna Netrebko

[gareth]

Hi, I have a new Anna Netrebko video, a duet with Rolando Villazon.

It's the aria Parigi, o caro from Verdi's La Traviata. I stumbled on it by accident.

Last night, I accidentally switched over to German TV, and saw some violin playing. I thought - this is a Classical Music programme, and so I decided to stay put. And sure enough, I discovered that the German Echo's were bing awarded (the equivalent to the Classical Brits and the Dutch Edisons). Now, I do normally check German TV listings, and this program was called 'Echo Der Stars'. That never sunk in with me as being a Classical Music show (no further details were shown). Anyway, once I had switched to it, I stayed with it - and this duet was the last song of the show. I then found out that Anna Netrebko had also performed at the beginning, so alas, I missed that one ...

Never mind, from now on I know that I should be on the lookout for Echo on German TV

www.classicalrelatedperformances.com/misc/netrebkovillazon_parigiocara161005.wmv

(16 MB)

Gerrit

[kcuteus1]

thanks she is one of the only ture classical singers that I can linten to and I really like her.

[Dave]

She's good, I went to the Classical Brits this year especially to see Anna! She was OK in the aria they broadcast, but the best one she did, they didn't broadcast it!!! One of these days, I'm going to see her in a full Opera (but the good seats are expensive!)

Thanks for the video Gerrit!

[Richard]

Thank you for the video Gerrit!

I'm not a great lover of full-blown opera singers, as I've said before, but I find Anna more bearable than most. I thought Rolando was far too loud and aggressive though, so I prefer Anna as a soloist.

Bye for now,

Richard

[gareth]

Hi Richard,

Talking about full-blown opera singers, do you mean Cecilia Bartoli, Angela Gheorghiu and Renée Fleming in addition to Anna Netrebko? They are the 4 female singers that come to my mind most readily. Of those four, Anna is undoubtedly my favourite performer.

I think I may have said it before, but on the whole, the operatic soprano and mezzo-soprano voice has never really appealed to me - perhaps because I can't detect much in the way of emotion in those voices. Give me Hayley, Katherine, Holly and Yulia any time above those (the order in which I listed these young singers does not necessarily indicate my order of preference).

I do like to listen to Anna though!

And ... when it comes to full blown male opera singers, I do like them on the whole a lot better than the female voice.

In conclusion, yes, Rolando came across a bit aggressive - still, the value of this video is - how long will it be before next we have a chance to see these two together? There will undoubtedly be more opportunities to listen to Anna solo.

I still think it is a pity I wasn't aware of this programme on German TV in time to catch Anna's solo performance (I haven't even been able to find out what she performed), but I am glad I caught this duet !

Gerrit

[Richard]

Hello Gerrit!

I was really referring to opera singers in general. To be impartial, I won't name names, but you haven't named anybody who wouldn't be on my list.

I definitely prefer singers with gentler voices, and I don't mind admitting that Hayley is my favourite! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

I'm not too keen on male singers in general, but I quite liked José Carreras at Hampton Court, especially when he duetted with Hayley!

I would certainly like to hear José Carreras duetting with Anna Netrebko.

Best Wishes from London,

Richard

[Dave]

I came across on Classic FM TV the promotional video Anna Netrebko made of "Song to the Moon" and for an Opera singer, it is a very interesting video!

Some people will think the video is a bit tacky, others may think it's a beautiful video but one thing is for sure, there's no doubting the beauty of her voice in this recording!

[sorry folks, link now deleted but video is available from me on request - Dave]

Gerrit, if you see this (if not I'll email you), will it go well on your Anna page do you think?

I also have a near DVD quality version with audio at xxxkbps (daren't say!) which is probably unsuitable for the Anna page - but you and some others may like it.

[sorry folks, link now deleted but video is available from me on request - Dave]

Cheers, Dave

[gareth]

Hi Dave,

I downloaded both versions. In fact, I was aware of the existence of this video, and I have seen it before. I was made aware of it in a thread about the Classical Brits on a Renée Fleming discussion group.

In that thread, both Anna Netrebko and Katherine Jenkins were criticised for even daring to attempt what was surely Renée's own song ....

(They also expressed incredulity about Katherine winning a Classical Brit, by the way.)

I gave them a piece of my mind about their claim that Song to the Moon was Renée's song (even though I still think that I know of no better performance that that of Renée in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw in May 2004, when she was awarded an Edison for one of her albums) (Edisons: Dutch Classical Music Awards).

I had to agree with one of their points though - they weren't impressed by the visuals of this video. I am just wondering - what is the connection between the visuals in this video and the actual content of the song, apart from an oversized moon? I think they have overdone the connection with the moon. They are fairly shouting MOON at you. And does the moon need so much sex(iness) to sell?

As such, the performance is stunning - but I am one of the people who finds this video very tacky indeed. So, I am holding back for a while hosting this one permanently - I would like to have some feedback from others on it.

Gerrit

[roger]

Hi Dave and Gerrit,

First of all, thanks for the video. Since you have asked, Gerrit, I find it unnecessarily tacky. That is a shame for it is a superb performance (even though Anna must have been lip synching).

In general, I think a video like this puts out a signal about the performer. Whether it is an accurate one or not is irrelevent - the signal is there just the same and I am surprised that Anna would resort to such gimmickery to promote her voice. There is no need for it. I am sure there are people - perhaps some here - who would be offended by parts of it.

Roger

[Richard]

Hello Gerrit!

I like the song, and the moon as a backdrop is very pleasing. I also like the subtle reference to the Sea of Tranquility. The scenes with the man spoil it for me though, because although they are quick the images are very powerful and they look anything but tranquil!

I agree that overall the video is a bit tacky!

Bye for now,

Richard

[gareth]

OK, here's another aspect ...

I personally AM offended by parts of the video. In fact, the video does have more than a hint of violent sex. Totally unjustified.

Also, Anna commented about the fact that Katherine won a Classical Brit award - and her comment was that she could hardly understand why someone like Katherine could win such an award.

I have ignored that up till now - but I won't forget it.

I think artists should refrain from commenting about fellow artists in that way. They should concern themselves with their own performances only.

I am currently willing to provide Anna's videos - but at the same time, if she is quoted again putting down other performers, I will cease to provide support.

Gerrit

P.S. Please note that in the case of Renée Fleming, criticism about Katherine was voiced by her fans - but in the case of Anna Netrebko, she herself personally expressed such criticism.

[Dave]

Hehe, I knew some of you would find it tacky! I do too, to an extent - but the production does attempt to tell the story of the song. Yes, some artistic licence is exercised - such as when Anna (Rusalka) slips quickly beneath the water at the end of the song - that moment does not occur until the end of the Opera. But the visual impressions of affection and lust are no more than what the libretto tells us (or implies) Rusalka is actually thinking and singing! It is a song about her desire... for a man! I don't think that taken as a whole, the video is misleading - it helps to tell the story. English subtitles or lyrics would have helped much more!

However, I do question Anna's judgement in allowing them to use certain camera angles in some of the scenes, given the way she is dressed. Some of the angles can I think be described as an attempt at gratuitous titillation and they add nothing to the story. Tacky? Yes, and Anna isn't the only well known singer we know who's fallen into that trap! (albeit to a lesser extent)

But in this case, poor judgement or not, Anna probably knew exactly what she was doing. She is known to be a party girl (except when it would interfere with a performance), likes to dress very smartly, even sexily when she can, and seems particularly to enjoy performing saucy operatic roles. She is also 33 years old (maybe 34 by now) so why not? I read somewhere that she has a secret (!?) aspiration to be an erotic pole dancer "for one night only". Rumour maybe... or maybe not!

Her interviews show that Anna clearly is one to speak her mind. Sometimes, this is ill advised - as in the case of her comments about the Classical Brit Awards mentioned by Gerrit - where she performed this year. A Times Online interview quotes her thus:

“You know who won first prize? Katherine Jenkins! Excuse me, this is not real. Classical music should be more serious.” We discuss la Jenkins’s attributes. “Yeah, nice boobs,” says Netrebko enigmatically. But she’s not bitchy.

Well that certainly sounds bitchy; it could also be humourous (we don't know the context) but surely, we should take note of the critic's qualifying remarks? She said it "enigmatically", he says. That to me means that Anna was puzzled, she did not understand how a classical crossover singer could win a classical award. Many others in the classical community don't understand it either. The answer, of course, is that when you have a public vote, almost anything can happen (personally, I am glad Katherine won Album of the Year but I do not like the voting system). For him to say she is not bitchy implies to me that much was said in their discussion about Katherine - but that only the most juicy quote was published - quite possibly out of context - as journalists do tend to do at times. I do not think we should rush to judgement based on so little information. If there's more information out there, I'd love to read it!

But in spite of my reservations about Anna's judgement from time to time, I shall continue to enjoy her recordings - yes, even Song To The Moon!!!

Cheers, Dave

[portia]

Haha, I agree with Anna about Katherine, really.

But the video was tacky, especially when Anna was floating on that inflatable rubber mattress in a white swimsuit looking not at all like a spirit but like a Marilyn Monroe incarnate. Still, it does attempt to divulge Rusalka's story.

[portia]

gareth said:

I think artists should refrain from commenting about fellow artists in that way. They should concern themselves with their own performances only.

I think that as long as the audience are allowed to comment about artists, artists should be given that liberty too, as long as they are not arrogant about their own performances.

[alien]

Thanks Gerrit and Dave, great videos! Anna's voice is amazing!! For the Moon video, I like the scenes in the sea but the scenes with the man rather out of place. With a voice like hers, why do they have to rely on sex to sell?

I recently downloaded a video of her performance on jay leno and I literally fall in love with her voice If any of you is interested, I can try to make a .wmv of it. The original file is a hdtv stream (430MB for 3 mins) so it's not really practical to host it anywhere.

Allen