Anna Netrebko on The Huffington Post, 30. Jan 2009

Patricia Zohn plots an intimate and personal profile of Anna Netrebko and her baby Tiago at their New York home appartment, very close to Lincoln Center, in the article Anna Netrebko: Opera Babe and Her Babe. Photo courtesy of Sean M. Gross.

Lucia di Lammermoor, Met, New York 29. Jan 2009

Gaetano Donizetti
LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR
Metropolitan Opera House, 29. January 2009

Cast
Conductor: Marco Armiliato

Lucia: Anna Netrebko
Edgardo: Rolando Villazón
Enrico: Mariusz Kwiecien
Raimondo: Ildar Abdrazakov
Normanno: Michael Myers
Alisa: Michaela Martens
Arturo: Colin Lee

Flute Solo: Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson
Harp Solo: Mariko Anraku
Armonica Solo: Cecilia Brauer

The Production Team
Production: Mary Zimmerman
Set Designer: Daniel Ostling
Costume Designer: Mara Blumenfeld
Lighting Designer: T. J. Gerckens
Choreographer: Daniel Pelzig

Reviews
Revisiting the Met's Lucia January 29 2009
Lucia di Lammermoor, Met 29-01-09, crónica de Huhas1
The morning after, 30. January 2009

Related posts
Lucia di Lammermoor, Met, New York 26. Jan 2009
Meet Anna Netrebko at the Met Opera Shop!
Anna Netrebko makes her Lucia debut at the Met on 26. Jan 2009
21C Media Group press release

Meet Anna Netrebko at the Met Opera Shop

Anna Netrebko will be the second artist to make an in-store appearance at the new Met Opera Shop. The star soprano, currently singing the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor, will sign copies of her new CD, Souvenirs, on Thursday, February 5, from 1.30 to 3.30 pm.

Souvenirs features a mix of operetta arias and songs, sung in nine different languages.

For more information, please contact the Met Opera Shop at 212-580-4090.

Anna Netrebko on the New York Post, 29. Jan 2009

The New York Post has published an article written by Barbara Hoffman about Anna Netrebko, after she has been visiting the Russian diva at her Manhattan apartment near Lincoln Center.

Anna talks about her last performances in Paris in Bellini's I Capuleti e I Montecchi, how her life changed after giving birth to her son Tiago on 5. September 2008 and her return to the Met stage to sing, for first time on this stage, the title role of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, stepping in the same role two great sopranos - Natalie Dessay and Diana Damrau - had just done before.

Anna comments also about how difficult was to getting back into shape after giving birth to her son Tiago, especially with a freezer full of ice cream. "It's forbidden," she laughs. "I'm also drinking a leetle, but not as much as I used to!". Lucky she lives with her personal trainer. "My husband is working me out two or three hours almost every day, and he's really kicking me!" she says. "I have just the belly - the rest of it is OK." She raises her Escada skirt to reveal a glamorous set of gams. "See?" she says. "The legs are still the same!"
"Solo goes trio" by Barbara Hoffman - New York Post, 29. January 2009

100,000 Blog Visits!

Today the Anna Netrebko blog has officially reached 100,000 visits!

This is a project that I have started around 15 months ago, to gather information, news, photos about my favourite soprano Anna Netrebko. After my first post, showing the Anna Netrebko performances database that I had been collecting for months, I was asking myself... well, and now... how people will know that I have started this blog? Google is a nice tool, indeed! And now we have reached 100,000 visits!

This has been possible thanks to all my great regular blog readers, who have been sending to me information, photos, links... and they have been encouraging me to keep following this project, always having very kind words about it.

Thank you sooo much to all of you for your support and your kindness!

And thank you Anna for being such a wonderful woman and such a great artist!

Lucia di Lammermoor, Met, New York 26. Jan 2009

Gaetano Donizetti
LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR
Metropolitan Opera House, 26. January 2009

Cast
Conductor: Marco Armiliato

Lucia: Anna Netrebko
Edgardo: Rolando Villazón
Enrico: Mariusz Kwiecien
Raimondo: Ildar Abdrazakov
Normanno: Michael Myers
Alisa: Michaela Martens
Arturo: Colin Lee*

Flute Solo: Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson
Harp Solo: Mariko Anraku
Armonica Solo: Cecilia Brauer

The Production Team
Production: Mary Zimmerman
Set Designer: Daniel Ostling
Costume Designer: Mara Blumenfeld
Lighting Designer: T. J. Gerckens
Choreographer: Daniel Pelzig

The Characters
Lucia: Lucia of Lammermoor is the sister of Enrico. She is in love with her brother's rival, Edgardo, but is forced to marry Arturo against her will.
Enrico: Enrico of Lammermoor is Lucia's brother. He has defeated Edgardo, winning control over the Ravenswood estates. To restore his waning power, he forces Lucia to marry against her will.
Edgardo: Edgardo of Ravenswood has recently lost control of his family's estates to the Lammermoors. He is in love with Lucia and will do anything to marry her.
Arturo: Arturo is a member of the Bucklaw family, and has agreed to marry Lucia in order to unite with the Lammermoor family.
Raimondo: Lucia's tutor.
Normanno: Follower of Enrico.

TV News videoclips


Audio clips with images
Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón in the wedding scene.

Anna Netrebko singing the mad scene

Reviews
Anthony Tommasini wrote for The New York Times:

"The impressive qualities of her singing were amply on display as the fragile Lucia, who has fallen in love with the enemy of her clannish family in Scotland, Edgardo, but is forced to marry a wealthy nobleman to rescue the family from financial ruin. Ms. Netrebko remains a glamorous and charismatic singer with an opulent and poignantly lovely voice."

"During her first scene, in the haunting aria “Regnava nel silenzio,” she shaped the arching phrases with rich sound and lyrical suppleness. She has always valued expressive nuances and impetuosity over rhythmic precision and flawless execution."

"Yet during the first part of the mad scene, after Lucia stabs her husband to death on their wedding night, Ms. Netrebko was spellbinding. In the hushed pianissimo passage when the delusional young woman believes she and her beloved Edgardo are at last united, she created vocal magic, imbuing lines with spectral colorings that matched the eerie sounds of the glass harmonica, played by Cecilia Brauer. Her earthy, subdued expressivity had me thinking of Callas."

"Bel Canto Magic in a Scottish Castle Haunted by Pesky High Notes" by Anthony Tommasini - The New York Times, 27. Jan 2009

"Star Tenor Villazon Conks Out, Rallies, Triumphs in Met Show" by Zinta Lundborg - Bloomberg 27. Jan 2009

Richard on rec.music.opera

Related posts
Anna Netrebko makes her Lucia debut at the Met on 26. Jan 2009
21C Media Group press release

Acknowledgements
Elisa, Rhodri, ZvezdanewsTV for uploading the TV news videoclip to Youtube, Hotazzoperastud for uploading the audioclips to Youtube

Anna Netrebko in Austrian Magazine NEWS

The latest edition of the Austrian magazine NEWS, nr. 4/2009, 22. January 2009, publishes a 4-page article about Anna's comeback to the stage on 14. Jan 2009 at the Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg, in the title role of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. The review of Anna's performance is absolutely positive and enthusiastic.
Info and photos provided by Herbert.

Anna Netrebko in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg 17. Jan 2009
Anna Netrebko signing autographs after her Lucia on 17. Jan 2009
Press reviews of Lucia di Lammermoor, Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg 14. Jan 2009

Anna Netrebko makes her Lucia debut at the Met on 26. Jan 2009

Anna Netrebko makes her highly-anticipated return to the Metropolitan Opera stage in New York to sing the title role of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.

The Metropolitan Opera production opens on 26. January 2009 and will mark the first time Netrebko has performed the role in New York. She will be partnered on stage with tenor Rolando Villazón as Edgardo, in their first joint appearances at the Met since April 2007, when the Met celebrated its 40th anniversary at Lincoln Center with a gala featuring the star singers, baritone Mariusz Kwiecien as Enrico and bass Ildar Abdrazakov as Raimondo. The director of the production is Mary Zimmerman and the conductor is Marco Armiliato. The same cast is scheduled for all four performances on 26. and 29. January and 3. and 7. February 2009.

Live Broadcasts and HD Transmissions
On 29. January 8:00 pm ET, Lucia di Lammermoor will be live broadcast by Metropolitan Opera Radio on Sirius XM.
On 7. February 01:00 pm ET, Lucia di Lammermoor will be live broadcast by Metropolitan Opera Radio on Sirius XM and Metropolitan Opera Radio Network Saturday Matinee Broadcasts and transmitted by The Met: Live in HD to movie theaters worldwide – Netrebko’s third consecutive Live in HD transmission from the Met.

Schedule change on Metropolitan Opera Radio on Sirius XM
The broadcast of Lucia di Lammermoor, originally planned for Thursday, January 29, has been postponed to Tuesday, February 3.

No more kisses on the stage
21C Media Group press release
Anna's Back!
Season 2008-2009

Lucia di Lammermoor, Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg 17. Jan 2009

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Second performance of Anna Netrebko in the title role of Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" at the Mariinsky Theater of St. Petersburg, after giving birth to her son Tiago Arua on 5. September 2008.

Lucia di Lammermoor
Three-act opera
Music by Gaetano Donizetti
Libretto by Salvatore Cammarano after Sir Walter Scott´s novel The Bride of Lammermoor

Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg 17. Januaary 2009

Cast
Lucia: Anna Netrebko
Edgardo: Sergei Semishkur
Enrico: Alexei Markov
Raimondo: Edward Tsanga
Normanno: Yury Alexeyev
Alisa: Varvara Solovjova
Arturo: Mikhail Latishev

Chorus and Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theater
Conductor: Keri-Lynn Wilson

Production
Production: John Doyle
Set Designer:
Costume Designer:
Lighting Designer:
Choreographer:

About the opera
Synopsis

Photos
Lucia di Lammermoor, Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg 17. Jan 2009. Anna Netrebko at the curtains call. Photo: menazor on ForumKlassika.Ru

Lucia di Lammermoor, Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg 17. Jan 2009. Anna Netrebko at the curtains call. Photo: menazor on ForumKlassika.Ru

Lucia di Lammermoor, Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg 17. Jan 2009. Anna Netrebko, Sergei Semishkur, Alexei Markow, Edward Tsanga and Keri-Lynn Wilson at the curtains call. Photo: menazor on ForumKlassika.Ru

Lucia di Lammermoor, Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg 17. Jan 2009. Anna Netrebko, Sergei Semishkur, Alexei Markow, Edward Tsanga and Keri-Lynn Wilson at the curtains call. Photo: menazor on ForumKlassika.Ru

Lucia di Lammermoor, Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg 17. Jan 2009. Anna Netrebko, Sergei Semishkur and Edward Tsanga at the curtains call. Photo: menazor on ForumKlassika.Ru

Lucia di Lammermoor, Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg 17. Jan 2009. Anna Netrebko, Sergei Semishkur and Edward Tsanga at the curtains call. Photo: menazor on ForumKlassika.Ru

Lucia di Lammermoor, Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg 17. Jan 2009. Anna Netrebko, Sergei Semishkur, Alexei Markow and Edward Tsanga at the curtains call. Photo: menazor on ForumKlassika.Ru

Anna Netrebko signing autographs at the stage door of the Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg, after her performance of Lucia di Lammermoor on 17. Jan 2009. Photo: Paparazzi.ru

Anna Netrebko signing autographs at the stage door of the Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg, after her performance of Lucia di Lammermoor on 17. Jan 2009. Photo: Paparazzi.ru

Videoclips
Lucia di Lammermoor, Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg 17. Jan 2009 – Anna Netrebko (Lucia), Sergei Semishkur (Edgardo)


Curtains call at the end of the performance

Cast for tomorrow's performance of Lucia di Lammermoor, Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg

The Mariinsky Theater has announced the cast for tomorrow's performance of Lucia di Lammermoor at the Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg.

Lucia di Lammermoor

opera in three acts

Music: Gaetano Donizetti

Production by John Doyle (2009)

Lucia – Anna Netrebko

Sir Edgar Ravenswood – Sergei Semishkur

Lord Henry Ashton – Alexei Markov

Raimondo – Edward Tsanga

Conductor – Keri-Lynn Wilson

No more kisses on the stage

An interview to Anna Netrebko has been just published in an on-line Russian Journal.

Anna talks about her son Tiago Arua and Erwin, her return to the satge in the performances of Lucia di Lammermoor at the Mariinsky Theater, her voice after giving birth to her son, the productions and their directors...

She says that Erwin told her recently... "No more kisses on the stage"

21C Media Group press release

21C Media Group has published the press release "Anna Netrebko Returns to Stage in January to Sing Lucia di Lammermoor at Metropolitan Opera and Mariinsky Theatre"

See other 21C Media Group press releases about Anna Netrebko

Anna Netrebko's paintings in a charity auction

Soprano Anna Netrebko and Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin, among others, will contribute with paintings for a 17. January charity auction to benefit two hospital in St. Petersburg and to to help restore a church.
Bloomberg.com

Updated on 15. Jan 2009
The blogger of Intermezzo has published a post including a picture of Anna's painting contribution to the charity auction, entitled Celebrant, shown here below.

You can vote for your favourite painting. Please visit the Intermezzo blog site and follow the indications shown there. Right now Anna's painting is the most voted one with 14 votes (27,45%), closely followed by Vladimir Putin's painting with 12 votes (23,53%). Go!

Updated on 17. Jan 2009
Putin painting auctioned for over $1 million.
Putin's painting brought in more than any of the others on auction. The painting by opera singer Anna Netrebko fetched 1.1 million rubles ($34,000).

Scottish Opera's overture to the Russians

Times on line has published an article on Anna Netrebko making her long-awaited return to the stage after the 6-month leave due to the born of her son Tiago. Anna is back to the stage singing the title role in a John Doyle's production of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor at the Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg.

The production, which won glowing reviews when it was premiered almost two years ago, is the first by Scottish Opera to be presented on a Russian stage, and the news has given the company an enormous boost.

Alex Reedjik, its general director, said he was enormously proud that the company had been chosen as the means for Netrebko to make her return to the stage. “We are truly delighted” he said. “She is one of the world's leading sopranos, who has created many important roles around the world".

Mr Reedjik said that Scottish Opera was approached about the collaboration last October. Once it had agreed to the offer, the company had less than two months to restore the Lucia set before shipping it to St Petersburg in time for rehearsals this month.

Mr Reedjik is flying to St. Petersburg today to attend the premiere. He hopes to explore opportunities to develop further cultural partnerships. The Scottish government has awarded the company a small grant to capitalise on the link

DG will release I Capuleti e I Montecchi in Germany on 20. February 2009

The live recording of Bellini's I Capuleti e I Montecchi with Anna Netrebko, Elina Garanca and Joseph Calleja and conducted by Fabio Luisi will be first released in Germany by Deutsche Grammophone on 20. February 2009.

The opera was recorded during the performances held at the Konzerthaus in Wien on 22., 25. and 28. April 2008.

The recording can already be pre-ordered at Amazon.de or Klassik Akzente.

VINCENZO BELLINI
I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Gesamtaufnahme · Complete)
Anna Netrebko · Elina Garanca
Joseph Calleja · Robert Gleadow
Tiziano Bracci
Wiener Singakademie
Wiener Symphoniker
Fabio Luisi
CD DDD 477 8031 GH 2
2 Compact Discs
Germany Release: 20. February 2009