Anna Netrebko "Giudici! ad Anna" Donizetti Anna Bolena Met 9.26.11

[kokkodry]

senza vergogna

[sicuro75]

She's so sluggish it's like she's trying to carry a 50 pound bag of potatoes on her back..Or is she drunk? and that high D sounded like it ripped her A - - H - - - ..ouch ! ! !.

[danielgeorgegrigore]

i love netrebko's voice but this role is not suitable for her voice or maybe she is just tired, i don't know but it's not her best performance and that high D...i've heard better from her

[sttar1982]

HORRIBLE

[so451]

@sttar1982 Qui ? Vous ?

[donpkra]

PLEASEEEE someone with a really good brain at the Met cast singers in the right roles with their talents and voices in mind This isn't a role for her at all and the role has gorgeous lines for the female lead listen to Sills, Caballe, Sutherland sing this you'll get chills !

[whatever456]

@donpkra They cast her because she's pretty and relatively slim not because she's a great bel canto interpreter. Gelb is more concerned about how singers look in the high definition broadcasts than whether they can deliver an authentic interpretation of a piece.  She is not well suited to this kind of singing --not the first singer to make that misstep-- She's not terrible, just not very good. the Met is pushing her as the next great all purpose soprano because she sells tickets

[avalokiteshivara]

Teria sido melhor se a Saymor fosse interpretada por Elina Garancha...

[jocmuc1]

wieso die netrebko dauernd so kritisieren. sie ist toll und absolut künstlerisch ernst zu nehmen. ich mag andere auch lieber aber sie ist auf jeden fall eine grosse sängerin, die sich in ihre rollen total einfühlt. ich finde, dass sie schon in die erste garde unserer heutigen sopranistinnen einzuordnen ist.

[Ariadne7710]

I have listened to Angela Meade and AAAeghhhhhhh!!!!!! all that vibrato made me sea-sick. 

[rachanne78]

Listen to Angela Meade singing this same aria a the Met. Ms. Meade's voice is full, effortless sounding, and perfect for this role. Anna Netrebko does not display vocal ease or comfort. The listener should not be able to hear her heavy breathing for every phrase. I am not trying to be one of those"haters", but I do get annoyed that Ms. Netrebko has been glorified into such a superstar, when quite frankly, her technical foundation is simply lacking. Ms. Meade, you are an inspiration!

[Serinia4melodic]

@rachanne78 Meade has the voice but can`t act:P

[caper064]

She's so into it. This is fantastic!

[fonseca524]

This is simply beautiful! I saw her at the Metropolitan Opera and I can't get enough of her.

[lanimabilanganligot]

She is certainly one of the best this century, but if you look at legendary singers from last century, you'll see that many actually excel in Donizetti's operas one way or another (and vice versa). There is no perfection in music, someone is always better at something.

[bpetii1]

anna netrebko voice is in a bad state (after 8th Anna Bolena performance), so she can't sing about 10 days. I'm not surprised.... She is not a really dramatic soprano, and it will kills her voice if she will sing this role....

[asdfopera]

@bpetii1

go the netrebko's website and take a look at her upcoming schedule. if you can sing all of that without a break then you should consider becoming an opera singer.

[bpetii1]

@asdfopera I really love Anna Netrebko, but the truth is truth. I'm studying music (singing , too), Anna Bolena is not her role i think. She said too, she had to do all what se can in this role. And many singers said to her that she should sing dramatic roles because she's voice is getting bigger and bigger ,  but still she's not a really dramatic i think. There are a few singers who was lyrics or between lyrical and dramatic they begun to sing dramatic roles, and they destroyed their voice.

[bpetii1]

@asdfopera But Anna is one of my favourite, and i really like her voice, her performance ....

[ilNuovoArchaeOpteryx]

I'm sorry, but I don't like this - she sounds strained, weak, and is lacking completely the dramatic force this passage and role demands - her "Giudici" is almost breaking down, and I don't see the drama and inner tension here - and in the cabaletta I cannot find any bravura, or at least the seed of the multiple emotions she is running through. I am sorry, I can't understand why everyone regards this as being world-class... Just listen to this with Sills or Caballé - or am I completly wrong???

[PaduaFernandes]

@ilNuovoArchaeOpteryx I completely agree with you; the acid high E of Netrebko is another sign of the tremendous effort that she is making in order to to survive this role. The mezzo sounds very weak also.

[hchristopher1]

Swallowed, fuzzy tone, no support to the voice, faked coloratura. Why, why, why is she singing this role? The high note sounds like a squeal. I'm going to the Met's simulcast, but not sure I can sit through it.

[Cantormatis]

@hchristopher1 The Met cares about nothing but its beloved star-system created by the media department.

[asdfopera]

@Cantormatis

true, netrebko is a star, but she has the singing and acting ability to back it up 100%.

[Ariadne7710]

@asdfopera I saw the HD transmission in a movie theatre yesterday too and it was really fantastic. The only thing I didn't like was Gubanova's voice. It is too metallic in my opinion. I liked Garanca in Vienna much better. The Met staging was way better than Vienna's but the colours were a bit too gloomy. Historically speaking, the costumes of the nobility in Royal Courts during that period were much more colourful when you look at paintings by Holbein and other artists.

[Cantormatis]

@asdfopera To the contrary. I think the voice is nice, but certainly not the right voice for the role and moreover, she doesn't have the singing chops for it at all. The tone is fuzzy, swallowed, and the coloratura is not at all good. I suggest that you give a good listen to the many great singers of the past who sang the role, and sang it well, particularly Callas, Sutherland, Caballe, Gencer, and even Sills (this was not a great role for her, but she could at least sing the coloratura well).

[MrJoni2226]

@Fegen~

Absolutely brilliant and so amazing performance!

Thank you John for sharing....and asdfopera for posting this.

[Ariadne7710]

Netrebko was being interviewed by an American interviewer on her interpretation of Bolena for the Met. Of course she would bring in Sills. She wanted to be polite to the American audience. When she was interviewed in Europe a few months ago, when she sang the role in Vienna she said quite different things. She doesn't want to offend anyone. The only thing that counts is how she actually sang the role. When you listen you will see that it is closest to the Callas interpretation. Just compare!!!

[Cantormatis]

@Ariadne7710 Would that she had learned anything from Callas, or Gencer, or Sills.

[KathrynARyder]

In all fairness, Netrebko has a lovely lyric voice. She reminds me of Mirella Freni who sang lighter parts early in her career (Puritani, Beatrice di Tenda, Daughter of the Regiment) but excelled in Puccini and verismo later ... Netrebko would be well advised to go for the parts she is most vocally and temperamentally suited for and leave the bel canto to those who have the technique and style to sing this music.

[spqrmor]

@KathrynARyder I wonder,who are those mysterious ones with technique and style capable to perform the whole opera like Anna Bolena ( vocaly and temperamentally suited, by your words) today?Just curious?

[KathrynARyder]

@spqrmor - - MOSUC is phenomenal ! DEVIA, GRUBEROVA are in their 60s and can outsing Netrebko as Anna Bolena! The MET OPERA wanted Netrebko for all three of Donizetti Queens but Netrebko cancelled MARIA STUARDA next season, ROBERTO DEVEREUX the season after. Netrebko is dropping all the big parts. From now on she will sing lighter parts. Next year she will do the easy part of Adina in L'Elisir, then Tatiana in Eugene Onegin. She no longer has a high Eflat although she is only 40!

[asdfopera]

@KathrynARyder

actually, mosuc is not phenomenal as bolena. the bolena mosuc sang a few years ago didn't make one ripple on the pond. futhermore, mosuc sang olympia at the met a few seasons ago, it was a complete failure and she will never return. netrebko didn't cancel maria stuarda or roberto devereux. the roles were offered but she declined them and only accepted bolena. also, netrebko is not singing lighter parts. leonora from il trovatore and manon lescaut are not light parts.

[Ariadne7710]

@asdfopera There are people out there who believe that Devia and Gruberova at their age and condition can sing top belcanto opera. They don't hear the scooping or wobbles or the transpositions as long as they hear a few trills in the 3 hours of the opera.They believe that if you can trill and hit the odd E6 it is enough. Even in her prime Gruberova had a leggiera coloratura voice. A fantastic Constanze, Zerbinetta or similar then but utterly unsuitable for Bolena. No middle or chest voice

[Cantormatis]

@spqrmor I'd say there ARE singers who can sing this music, but are not famous either in American houses yet or haven't made their big debuts yet. There are several very, very good young singers who, if they listen carefully and really LEARN, will be able to sing this.

[spqrmor]

@Cantormatis Many can sing,even tweety birds, but a few can share their souls with people on the stage. That is a privilege of talented and great ones.

[Cantormatis]

@spqrmor You think that those who grace the stage before you are the only great ones? You've only proven what you don't know.

[spqrmor]

@Cantormatis You see, if one produces only pretty high notes without soul in it, it does not mean that one produces the music. And, your nit-picking is irrelevant at all.Bye!

[Ariadne7710]

Anna was being diplomatic when she said she said she listened to Callas, Gencer and Sills recordings. You can listen without emulating!! Nothing in her Bolena suggests that she took much notice of the Sills recording. Her Bolena is the closest to Callas's. Just compare the scores, the phrasing and ornamentation to see which of the recordings influenced her own interpretation. She has the solid middle and lower voice to sing the role which is what counts in the end. Not the half a dozen top notes

[xmarisaxc]

Anna said that she listened to Callas, Gencer and yes Sills. She never said she modeled her role on Sills. She always emphasizes that it is her own interpretation. Sills version might be "great" because it has less cuts than Maria's.

[sillsfan2002]

You mean like that lovely D at the end of Act I that Trebs hit? Or that on pitch whatever note she tried to hit at the end of "al dolce guidami"?

Sills was trained in bel canto. I've seen the Sills score of Anna Bolena and know the effort she put into learning the role.

In contrast, Trebs learned the role of Anna Bolena by listening to the Sills recording. At least Trebs knew who to emulate. Too bad she doesn't have the bel canto chops to pull it off. Go sing something like Puccini.

[asdfopera]

@sillsfan2002

trebs actually said she learned by listening to callas...not sills.

[sillsfan2002]

@asdfopera In an interview, Anna Netrebko admits to listening to the three great recordings—with Maria Callas, Leyla Gencer, and Sills in the title role—but it’s only Beverly Sills whom she says is “absolutely fantastic.”

You're wrong.

[Ariadne7710]

@asdfopera Anna gave several interviews in Vienna both before the Bolena premiere on 2nd April and afterwards. I heard several of them on TV. In Vienna the Anna Bolena production was a big event. It was on all the News Channels.  Opera and classical music are important to all the Viennese. She mentioned Callas and Gencer in those interviews. She knows Sills is very big in America so she mentioned her in her American interviews. She is just being very diplomatic. It is called good PR.

[Ariadne7710]

@asdfopera I think trying to use logic to people who are fired by blind fanaticism is a waste of time. We all know what the facts are. And if Anna wanted to please American audiences by saying Sills is fantastic good for her. It costs nothing and is very clever with PR. Listen to some of her other interviews. She is a very skilled interviewee. She skirts round difficulties with questions about other singers with great charm and diplomacy.

[Cantormatis]

@asdfopera She should have listened to Sills as well. Maybe she would have learned something.

[asdfopera]

@Cantormatis

i actually saw the hd transmission today. i think that netrebko is wonderful in this role and she has absolutely nothing to learn from beverly sills.

[statsman07]

@asdfopera I agree. she was fabulous.

[Ariadne7710]

Thank God she took no notice of Sills. Sills was a disaster in Bolena. It was completely the wrong role for her. It needs a voice with a much bigger and stronger middle and low range which Sills didn't have. She was wonderful in the light coloratura roles (Amina, Adina, Norina etc) but her voice was way too high for Bolena. Plus her additional embellishments and transpositions upwards to avoid low passages just ruined the whole thing. It was very little to do with Donizett the way she sang it

[Cantormatis]

@Ariadne7710 Interesting. I'd agree that it was not Sills greatest role, but in the 19th century it was entirely acceptable to alter the score for a given singer. Sills, in her recording of the role anyway, is at least an expressive singer with a superb sense of musical line (whether or not one likes the million added high notes is a matter of taste). She was also a marvelous vocal actress- not Callas or Gencer- but nevertheless a very good interpreter.

[Ariadne7710]

@Cantormatis Roles written for a 3 octave vocal range being altered to fit into a voice of 2 and a bit octaves is not acceptable. The singers for whom these roles were composed were soprano sfogatos ie mezzos with a great top range up to F6 and the whole idea was to show off their incredible range. Sills had a lovely high leggiera voice and great coloratura but no low range. It is not a suitable voice for Anna Bolena. All the middle and low passages need a voice with much bigger weight.

[LohengrinT]

@sillsfan2002

There is absolutely no influence by Sills in her singing and that is why she has the Success as Bolena Sills never had :) She sings in complete full tone the lower passages that Sills whispered with her atrophic voice and she sings magnificently the middle passages that Sills transposed upwards because she always sounded screamy in her middle voice actually because she never had one :))

No-one listens to Sills today for a reason ;)

[sillsfan2002]

@LohengrinT In an interview, Anna Netrebko admits to listening to the three great recordings—with Maria Callas, Leyla Gencer, and Sills in the title role—but it’s only Beverly Sills whom she says is “absolutely fantastic.” She also said the same thing at the opening night intermission.

You're wrong.

[LohengrinT]

@sillsfan2002

the only reason she said that is because she is afraid in America of the Sills Queens who plague the met (too many in there)

In another interview she says: No way I could ever do with my voice what Callas did ;)

[sillsfan2002]

@LohengrinT "the only reason she said that..." Wow. You talked to her and she further elaborated to you personally what she meant by her previous multiple statements praising Sills? Thanks for clearing that up.

[LohengrinT]

@sillsfan2002

if she talked about Sills' Palmira or Marie or Cleopatra we would have believed that she was indeed talking about a superb performance... but her Bolena? no-one listens to it no matter how hard the americans try to promote that performance that was never the least successful

Sills had her devoted fans that many of them are within the Met Im afraid - big names ;)

Gruberova COPIED the Sills Bolena that is why no-one ever talked about her Bolena either

[sillsfan2002]

@LohengrinT So you're saying Trebs lied and didn't listen to Sills Bolena? Why would she lie and how do you know? I'm sorry you have you're own irrational prejudices and opinions of Sills But don't apply your biased opinions of Sills' talent to the rest of the world. That allegation makes you look silly. When any singer essays a new role, there will be comparisons. The Trebs Bolena now gets compared to other great Bolenas of the past. Reviews are mixed at best. Those are the facts.

[Homoclassicus]

@sillsfan2002 @sillsfan2002 That's not true. You can't apply your personal opinion on Netrebko's Bolena to the rest of the world, as well. Most opinions I read (from newspaper critics and bloggers) were very positive. If you consider a rational, unbiased review as "mixed", then you'd be right, because most reviews recognized Netrebko's occasional pitch problems and the fact she doesn't have incredible coloratura skills. However, most were very impressed at her musical and dramatic qualities.

[sillsfan2002]

@LohengrinT My criticism of Trebs is she is just not a bel canto singer. She's a lyric soprano with modest facility in coloratura. In her own words: " ... work on the coloratura, it will be there. Absolutely. Not perfect, never. my coloratura is never perfect." Because her voice is bigger now does not mean it's right for the technical demands of roles like Anna. She would excel in other repertoire- but not bel canto roles that demand a command of the coloratura arsenal. I think more Puccini.

[LohengrinT]

@sillsfan2002

she is not a pure coloratura and THANK GOD for that cause if she were her Bolena would pass completely unnoticed like Sills' and Gruberova's - these are not coloratura roles Singing Bolena with a perfect coloratura technique and no middle and low voice is 100 times worse than having a 3 octave voice with small flaws in the coloratura parts

You know what Music is? at all? when Sills and Gruby sing Bolena there is no Music

[primohomme]

@sillsfan2002

FYI, Netrebko's coach for this role is a HUGE Sills fan

He pretty much handed her the CD of Sills' Bolena to her

It's unlikely she seeked it out.

Sills tried her best to sing Bolena, pushing with everything she had, high notes, chest tones, but the worst of all is how she pushed the middle to the point of screaming it and sounding as if her voice was about to break. I like Sills a lot, but her Bolena is nowhere near Callas'.

[LohengrinT]

@primohomme

exactly, Sills and Scotto out of their demented obsession with the Callas phenomenon pushed their voices into the 3 octave Callas prototype - the results were catastrophic both in their vocal health (both primes lasted no more than 3-4 years the rest the were singing through their public relations) and the performances were ridiculous - their obsession was that immense that they failed to realise how ridiculous they had become (very similar to what Gruberova does now)

[LohengrinT]

@primohomme

most coloraturafans completely ignore what these singers sing in the middle and lower voice and just wait for the coloratura stupidities - they are not interested in music much - it is like acrobatics in the gymnastics, all technique no art

[Ariadne7710]

@primohomme The Sills Bolena is a joke. All the transpositions up to avoid low notes and all the extra silly little ornamental passages and notes all over the place. In particular the one which makes me burst out laughing is in "Coppia Iniqua" when she sings the ascending trills and instead of that she makes them into a little see-saw ditty which sounds like a playful little song. She is about to die, she is cursing the iniquitous couple and we need a little joke of a tune? For God's sake!!!!!

[maestrojimbo]

@Ariadne7710  THERE YOU GO AGAIN - HAVE AN APPLE, SNOW WHITE!

[LohengrinT]

@sillsfan2002

Sills was trained by her coach Roland Gagnon to sing transposed upwards every single line ever written - perhaps those days where opera audiences thought that was difficult, including little Mrs Retarded Bev Sills but today audiences have finally realized that the truly difficult thing is not to transform Anna Bolena into the Queen of the Night with endless stupid stacatti but to sing the role exactly as written with all the lows the middles and the highs

[Ariadne7710]

@sillsfan2002 I shouldn't think so for one moment. To suggest that she learned the role of Bolena by listening to Sills is lludicrous. If she listened to the recording she did so in order to learn what to avoid!! Such as all the additional, superfluous and inappropriate embellishments and upwards transpositions that Sills sang. If she learnt from any recording it was from Callas's. Put the two scores side by side and you will see. If anyone didn't have the voice to sing it with it was Sills.

[maestrojimbo]

@Ariadne7710 Well, there's a video here on youtube where she's being interviewed and mentions Callas briefly and then says that Sills was "fantastic". Get the facts right and don't lie to support your vendettas.

[Ariadne7710]

@maestrojimbo Do you mean the In Tune interview of 09.28.2011?

[sillsfan2002]

way to murder bel canto!

[primohomme]

@sillsfan2002

No, murdering bel canto would be screaming middle voice with a pinched sound as Sills did in the final cabaletta in this role

[georgerannie]

As a Callas Orphan, I think this very good.

[LohengrinT]

@georgerannie

one singer could follow Callas for Success, but how many can unfold their voice into a fully sustained 3 octave range? extremely few! Anna seems to be one of them

[LohengrinT]

It is unbelievable how beautiful and strong this Music is - the Donizettian Genius shines in full Brilliance

Anna's D6 at the end is AMAZING - she really stretched herself to her Limits

[harpguy18]

I love how they did the uncut version @ 2:55

[jgdmol4l]

whoa, that last high D sounded strange to me! not in terms of pitch or anything but it sounded as though there were two people singing it...it didn't sound like it was just Anna...did the mezzo go up to the D with her by any chance? If so, that was very ill-advised i'd say and in rather poor taste...perhaps the audio is slightly distorted or maybe my hearing's off? would anyone care to tell me if it indeed sounds like this? I've listened a few times and I still get the same impression. IDKW. lol

[jgdmol4l]

@jgdmol4l nevermind, I listened to it one more time and she was just in really close proximity to the microphone...and it was still fierce anyway.

[ninawally1]

Absolutely fantastic!!! Congrats Anna!!!

[ruth425]

This is the best form to appreciate a history with music.

[chuntsiack]

I hope we see more operas like this in the future.

[s99jonte]

It was an amazing evening.

[Ariadne7710]

Well done Anna, wonderful. Bravissima.....

[operagirlify]

she is amazing! wish I could have seen this live :)

[asdfopera]

@operagirlify

me too. i listened over the radio, but i will go the live hd simulcast on october 15th.

[operagirlify]

@asdfopera Oh, I would have loved to listen on the radio, but I was out of town :( I'm going to HD simulcast of Annas Manon!!!!!!

[09avenger]

@operagirlify I was at the premiere yesterday. I will never forget this night. Anna was brilliant. I am so happy!

I think she proved everyone who were picking for years on her singing to be completely wrong.

[operagirlify]

@09avenger I'm so glad you got to go :)