Anna Netrebko will be Anna Bolena at the opening night of the MET 2011-2012 season

MET general manager Peter Gelb has officially announced today that the MET plans to stage the first two operas of Donizetti's Tudor Trilogy: Anna Bolena on the 2011-20012 season and Maria Stuarda on the 2012-2013 season. The MET has no current plans to stage Roberto Devereaux.

Anna Netrebko will star as Anna Bolena at the opening night of the MET 2011-2012 season. Gelb had discussed with Netrebko having her perform all three queens, but Netrebko decided she would commit to only one at this time. Joyce di Donato is in discussions with the Met to sing Mary Queen of Scots in 2012-2013.

"I am very excited to be taking on Donizetti's Anna Bolena" Netrebko said in a statement. "Fortunately, it's far enough in the future that I'll have time to learn it really well — the mad scene is even greater than the one in Lucia di Lammermoor, and the tragedy is awesome. But I don't get to die in this one: The opera ends just before she gets beheaded!"

MET Plans to Stage Donizetti Queens, Ronald Blum, AP, 31. January 2008

Upcoming Anna Netrebko performances

I have updated the Anna Performances Database to include some new, not always officially confirmed, performances of Anna. The next performances, after her last performance in La Traviata at the ROH in London on 29. January 2008, will be as Mimi in La Bohème at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg on 29. February 2008 and a concert with Elina Garanca, and not Dmitri Hvorostovsky as it was initially scheduled and announced on Dmitri's web site, in Abu Dhabi on 29. March 2008. The concert of Anna Netrebko and Elina Garanca in Abu Dhabi on 29. March 2008 is now announced on the official DG web site.

Please take a look to the Anna Performances Database to know more about past performances, as well as further upcoming performances, including some expected ones for upcoming seasons, up to the 2011-2012 one.

Updated on 2. February 2008

La Traviata, ROH 26. January 2008 - Anna Netrebko, Jonas Kaufmann, Dmitri Hvorostovsky

Only a few opera houses in the world can afford a cast such as the one I have been enjoying last Saturday at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London. Anna Netrebko as Violetta Valéry, Jonas Kaufmann as Alfredo Germont and Dmitri Hvorostovsky as Giorgio Germont. The fabulous chorus and orchestra of the Royal Opera House were conducted by Maurizio Benini. On the stage a revival of the beautiful production created by Richard Eyre.

After Anna's huge success on the first performance on 14. January, she was obliged to cancel the three next performances on 17, 20 and 23th January, due to a bronchitis. I had a ticket for the performance on 26. January and I went to London on Friday 25th January, without to know if she would be recovered or not. Friday night I went with a friend to the ROH to look for some, hopefully not bad, news about Anna. There was no cancellation announcement and people at the ROH told us that Anna will sing on Saturday. Thanks God!!!

On Saturday, around 2 hours before the start of the performance, we went to the stage door to look for Anna's arrival. Yes!!! Anna arrived 1 hour and half before the performance starts. So, this was the definitive confirmation!!! Anna was there!!!

The performance began and Anna was better than ever. Her powerful diamond-like voice came across the whole orchestral mass density, filling everything. While at other moments, she did wonderful pianissimi. I was completely moved. At the end of the first act, people began to clap and to scream "Brava!", "Bravissima!". At the curtain calls, a long standing ovation and more and more "Brava!", "Bravissima!". It was the best opera performance I have ever seen. Anna was a true goddess.

Jonas Kaufmann was also very good, brilliant at some points, and I liked very much Dmitri Hvorostovsky. It was the first time I saw him live and I really got a very good impression. We have to keep in mind the concerts that Anna and Dmitri will have the next season. Great orchestra and conductor.

Remember that this performance will be broadcast on BBC 3 radio on 9. February and that there is a last opportunity to see this Traviata cast live at the ROH on 29. January.

We were to the stage door after the performance. After a while, they told us that the cast had a dinner at the ROH and they would not come to sign in. But, apparently, Dmitri changed his mind and he came out to the door leaving the ROH. He signed me the program. After a while we went to dinner at the Bertorelli, just in front of the stage's door. At 11:30 PM I saw Anna and her IMG general manager leaving the ROH, with a flower's bouquet each one. She was looking great. Thanks Anna!!!

Press Reviews

"the first thing that I was struck by was the sheer size of the voice: this is a huge and luscious instrument", "She could shade it for expressive subtlety and fine it down for a heart-stopping pianissimo, as she did for the start of the second verse (sic) of Addio del passato”

La Traviata with La Netrebko, Alnwickian, 28. January 2008

Photos

Anna Netrebko and Dmitri Hvorostovsky at the final curtain call. La Traviata, ROH, London 26. January 2008. Photo: Olga

Anna Netrebko at the final curtain call. La Traviata, ROH, London 26. January 2008. Photo: Olga

Anna Netrebko at the final curtain call. La Traviata, ROH, London 26. January 2008. Photo: Olga

Anna Netrebko, Jonas Kaufmann, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Maurizio Benini at the final curtain call. La Traviata, ROH, London 26. January 2008. Photo: Olga

Anna Netrebko, Jonas Kaufmann, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Maurizio Benini at the final curtain call. La Traviata, ROH, London 26. January 2008. Photo: Olga

Anna Netrebko, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Maurizio Benini at the final curtain call. La Traviata, ROH, London 26. January 2008. Photo: Olga

Breaking News - Anna Netrebko cancels tomorrow's performance of La Traviata at the ROH

Still bad and sad news from the ROH website. Russian soprano Anna Netrebko is still suffering from bronchitis and will not be able to sing the role of Violetta at the performance of La Traviata on Wednesday 23 January.
The role will once again be sung by Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho, who stepped into the role of Violetta on both Thursday 17 January and Sunday 20 January, replacing an unwell Anna Netrebko.

Breaking News - Anna Netrebko cancels tomorrow's performance of La Traviata at the ROH

The Royal Opera House has announced today that Anna Netrebko is still suffering from bronchitis and will not be able to sing the role of Violetta in Sunday's performance of La Traviata. The role will now be sung by Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho.
Anna Netrebko will be also unable to attend the appearance with Jonas Kaufmann, scheduled after the sunday's matinee performance of La Traviata at the ROH Shop, to sign copies of their CDs.

Breaking News - Anna Netrebko cancels tonight's performance of La Traviata at the ROH

The Royal Opera House has announced today that Anna Netrebko is currently suffering from bronchitis and will not be able to sing the role of Violetta in tonight's performance of La Traviata at the ROH, Covent Garden.

La Traviata, ROH 14. January 2008 - Anna Netrebko, Jonas Kaufmann, Dmitri Hvorostovsky

Anna Netrebko made her very much awaited debut as Violetta at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden on 14. January 2008, with Jonas Kaufmann as Alfredo and Dmitri Hvorostovsky as Giorgio Germont. The performance was conducted by Maurizio Benini.

Press Reviews
"Anna Netrebko, now acclaimed as the global - or, why be cautious, intergalactic - operatic superstar of the 21st century, gave an electrifying performance as the consumptive heroine Violetta", "Netrebko moves us to a new sublime level of emotional involvement. Tears even before the end of Act I? The auditorium was awash"
Be seduced by a superstar, Fiona Maddocks, Evening Standard, 15. January 2008

"Shaken, stirred, and still quivering at the knees, I’m an altered man", "I expected effortlessly commanding top notes and peachy tone, but not the wonderfully subtle variations in colour and phrasing. And the way she turns her final aria from deathbed murmur to fierce, fatalistic cry of pride and defiance is mesmerising"
La Traviata, Richard Morrison, The Times, 15. January 2008

"The five stars belong to Anna Netrebko", "Netrebko is, in a word, sensational"
La Traviata, Royal Opera House, London, Edward Seckerson, The Independent, 16. January 2008

"the singer's realistic portrayal of Violetta's consumption from the first act to the last is surely unrivalled amongst the divas of recent years", "this was still a memorable revival, thanks to Netrebko's unmissable and stunning Violetta"
Anna Netrebko sings Violetta in La Traviata at Covent Garden, Dominic McHugh, MusicalCriticism.com

"Yet she also could stoke her dramatic fire when she wanted, and her fiery cry of ``morir si giovine'' (``to die so young'') in her death scene was heartbreaking", "Fight -- you'll have to -- to get tickets, which have now officially sold out for this cast"
Sell the Ferrari for tickets to "Traviata", Warwick Thompson, Bloomberg.com, 16. January 2008

"Here is a true singing actress, blessed with a gloriously rich, luxurious soprano, and also with completely convincing dramatic powers", "Her Violetta approached death in the most convincing and captivating manner, spluttering, flailing and collapsing, every move truthful and fully integrated into the committed characterisation"
Anna Netrebko starts in Verdi's La Traviata, Dave Paxton, MusicOMH.com

"Once in a generation a prima donna takes ownership of a role in a way none of her peers can do. Anna Netrebko has achieved this as Violetta", "She simply is the Violetta for our age"
The Violetta for our time, Andrew Clark, Financial Times, 15. January 2008

"Truly great performances of Verdi's La Traviata come along once in a generation, and this astonishing revival of Richard Eyre's 1994 Royal Opera production may well go down in history as one of the defining operatic experiences of our times", "Netrebko's voice often blazes with warmth and opulence, though she also deploys throttled pianissimos to convey both the ravages of disease and the agonies of uncertainty"
La Traviata, Tim Ashley, The Guardian, 16. January 2008

La Traviata: Ecstasy greets a rising star, Rupert Christiansen, Telegraph.co.uk, 16. January 2008

"Fue tal la grandeza, la perfección, la intensidad de la energía aquella noche, que cuando terminó el primer acto pasaron varios minutos antes de que pudiera articular palabra", "En el instante en que comenzó a cantar me dí cuenta de que aquello no tenía nada que ver con todo lo que había escuchado hasta ahora"
Una diosa junto al Támesis, El rincón de Papagena, La Verbena, 19. January 2008

"On Monday, her predestined chance came when she sang in the Royal Opera's revival of La traviata, and no one who was there will ever forget it", "At that moment she was simply the most excitingly reckless, scorchingly charismatic opera singer in the world, and she had just given the finest performance anyone could remember in one of the most demanding roles in the repertory",
A Violeta to die for, Peter Conrad, The Observer, 20. January 2008

"it's worth fighting for a ticket for this Covent Garden revival just to see Anna Netrebko"
La Traviata, Royal Opera House, London, Anna Picard, The Independent, 20. January 2008

La Traviata, Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times, 20. January 2008

Photos, ArenaPal
Photos, The Opera Critic

La Bohème, 2 CDs to be released in May 2008 by DG

La Bohème with Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón, recorded in a concert version performance in München on 14. April 2007, will be released as 2 CDs by Deutsche Grammophon in May 2008.

2 CDs 477 6600

PUCCINI: La Bohème

Anna Netrebko / Rolando Villazón / Boaz Daniel / Nicole Cabell / Stéphane Degout / Vitalij Kowaljow

Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks / Kinderchor des Stadttheaters am GärtnerplatzSymphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks / Bertrand de Billy

La Traviata, San Francisco, Season 2008-2009

Anna Netrebko will make her debut as Violetta at the San Francisco Opera during the next season 2008-2009. Anna Netrebko is scheduled in seven performances of La Traviata, with Charles Castronovo as Alfredo and Dwayne Croft as Giorgio Germont. The conductor will be Donald Runnicles. The Director will be Marta Domingo, being her San Francisco Opera debut.

La Traviata, San Francisco 13. Jun 2009 – Anna Netrebko (Violetta), Charles Castronovo (Alfredo Germont), Dwayne Croft (Giorgio Germont); Chorus and Orchestra of the San Francisco Opera, Donald Runnicles

La Traviata, San Francisco 16. Jun 2009 – Anna Netrebko (Violetta), Charles Castronovo (Alfredo Germont), Dwayne Croft (Giorgio Germont); Chorus and Orchestra of the San Francisco Opera, Donald Runnicles

La Traviata, San Francisco 19. Jun 2009 – Anna Netrebko (Violetta), Charles Castronovo (Alfredo Germont), Dwayne Croft (Giorgio Germont); Chorus and Orchestra of the San Francisco Opera, Donald Runnicles

La Traviata, San Francisco 25. Jun 2009 – Anna Netrebko (Violetta), Charles Castronovo (Alfredo Germont), Dwayne Croft (Giorgio Germont); Chorus and Orchestra of the San Francisco Opera, Donald Runnicles

La Traviata, San Francisco 28. Jun 2009 – Anna Netrebko (Violetta), Charles Castronovo (Alfredo Germont), Dwayne Croft (Giorgio Germont); Chorus and Orchestra of the San Francisco Opera, Donald Runnicles

La Traviata, San Francisco 1. Jul 2009 – Anna Netrebko (Violetta), Charles Castronovo (Alfredo Germont), Dwayne Croft (Giorgio Germont); Chorus and Orchestra of the San Francisco Opera, Donald Runnicles

La Traviata, San Francisco 5. Jul 2009 – Anna Netrebko (Violetta), Charles Castronovo (Alfredo Germont), Dwayne Croft (Giorgio Germont); Chorus and Orchestra of the San Francisco Opera, Donald Runnicles

Article - "Anna Netrebko, opera's poster girl" by Jasper Rees, The Sunday Times, 13. January 2008

Article written after an interview to Anna Netrebko just before her debut as Violetta at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London

"Anna Netrebko, opera's poster girl" by Jasper Rees, The Sunday Times, 13. January 2008

News - La Bohème Film and Lucia at the MET

I am just back home from the recital given by Rolando Villazón at the Liceo of Barcelona. Rolando has been awarded with big applauses from the audience but, unfortunately, he still has some problems with his voice. It has to be hard to somehow restart after a six month period out of the stage, as he has recognized during the recital. After he had started one of the pieces of the second part of the concert, he has been forced to stop and leave the stage for a while. The audience showed him again that he was very much appreciated in Barcelona.

After the performance I have been waiting for him at the backstage door to get his signature and to quickly ask him a couple of questions. He has confirmed that the movie of La Bohème, with Anna and Rolando in the leading roles, will start to be recorded this February. The music soundtrack for the movie comes from the concert version performances done last year in München. I asked him also about the performances of Lucia di Lammermoor at the MET for the next season (see the database performances on the right hand side of the blog). Anna is also scheduled for these performances and Rolando told me that he will be also there.