Anna Netrebko at the Ruhrtriennale 2009

Ruhrtriennale 2009
After the successful season 2008 and the farewell of Jürgen Flimm, the new artistic director of the Ruhrtriennale Willy Decker and his team are busy working on the preparations for the Ruhrtriennale 2009-2011.

From the 15th of August until the 11th of October you will have the opportunity to experience music, theatre, dance and literature in multifarious performances, Kreationen (creations) and guest performances - all in the well-known but always new and unique venues.

The upcoming three-year Triennale cycle will explore the creative tension between the arts and the source of spirituality and will reflect the manifold facets in different cultures.

The programme for the season 2009 – with a new visual appearance – will be presented on the 29th of April. One day later the advance booking begins!

Anna Netrebko is scheduled for a concert on 13. September 2009.

Season 2009-2010

Anna Netrebko Awards and Prizes

Anna Netrebko Awards and Prizes

List, in chronological order, of the awards and prizes received by the Russian opera diva Anna Netrebko.

• Prize-winner at the All-Russian Glinka Vocalists Competition (1st prize, Smolensk, 1993)
• Prize-winner at the II International Rimsky-Korsakov Young Opera Singers Competition (3rd prize, St. Petersburg, 1996)
• Baltika Prize for Young Opera Singers (St. Petersburg, 1997)
• Casta Diva Russian Music Prize (St. Petersburg, 1998)
• Golden Sophit, St Petersburg‘s highest theatre prize (St. Petersburg, 1999)
• Echo Klassik 2004 Award in the category "Female Singer of the Year" (München, 2004)
• Klassik Amadeus Music Award 2004 (Wien, 2004)
• State Prize of the Russian Federation 2004 delivered by Russian President Vladimir Putin (Moscow, 12. Jun 2005)
• Echo Klassik 2005 Award in the category "Female Singer of the Year" (München, 2005)
• Echo Klassik 2005 Award in the category "Bestselling Album of the Year" for the recording of the album Sempre Libera (München, 2005)
• Bambi Award 2006 in the category "Classical Music" (Stuttgart, 2006)
• Echo Klassik 2006 Award in the category "Bestselling Album of the Year" for the live recording of La Traviata at the Salzburger Festspiele 2005 (München, 2006)
• Kuban Hero of Labor Award (Krasnodar, 2006)
• Echo Klassik 2007 Award in the category "Bestselling Album of the Year" for the recording of the Russian Album (München, 2007)
• Echo Klassik 2007 Award in the category "Best Music DVD Production of the Year" for the video recording of the Waldbühnenkonzert, Berlin, July 2006 with Plácido Domingo and Rolando Villazón (München, 2007)
• Classical Brit Award 2007 in the category "Singer of the Year" (London, 2007)
• Die Goldene Feder 2007 Mediaprize (Hamburg, 2007)
• People's Artist of Russia Award delivered by Russian President Vladimir Putin (St. Petersburg, 2008)
• Echo Klassik 2008 Award in the category "Bestselling Album of the Year" for the recording of the album Duets with Rolando Villazón (München, 2008)
• Echo Klassik 2008 Award in the category "Best Music DVD Production of the Year" for the video recording of Le Nozze di Figaro at the Salzburger Festspiele 2007 with Ildebrando D'Arcangelo, Dorothea Röschmann, Christine Schäffer and the Wiener Philharmoniker conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt (München, 2008)
• Classical Brit Award 2008 in the category "Female of the Year" (London, 2008)
• Musician of the Year Award 2008 by Musical America (Washington, 2008)
• Echo Klassik 2009 Award in the category Opera Recording of the Year (19th Century) - Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón, Giacomo Puccini, La Bohème (Deutsche Grammophon/Universal Music)
• Golden Sophit, St Petersburg‘s highest theatre prize for the title role of John Doyle's production of Lucia di Lammermoor, premiered at the Mariinsky Theatre on 14. Jan 2009 (St. Petersburg, 2009)
• Gramophone Award 2011 in the category Editor's Choice (London, 2011) -  EMI CD recording: Rossini: Stabat Mater, Anna Netrebko (soprano), Joyce DiDonato (mezzo), Lawrence Brownlee (tenor), Ildebrando D'Arcangelo (bass-baritone), Orchestra e Coro dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano

Anna Netrebko at the Ceremony of the State Prize of the Russian Federation 2004 held at the Grand Kremlim Palace, Moscow on 12. Jun 2005


Anna Netrebko at the Ceremony of the State Prize of the Russian Federation 2004 held at the Grand Kremlim Palace, Moscow on 12. Jun 2005. Entrance of Anna Netrebko to the Hall (0:24-1:24)


Anna Netrebko at the Ceremony of the State Prize of the Russian Federation 2004 held at the Grand Kremlim Palace, Moscow on 12. Jun 2005


Anna Netrebko at the Ceremony of the State Prize of the Russian Federation 2004 held at the Grand Kremlim Palace, Moscow on 12. Jun 2005


Anna Netrebko at the Ceremony of the State Prize of the Russian Federation 2004 held at the Grand Kremlim Palace, Moscow on 12. Jun 2005


Anna Netrebko at the Ceremony of the State Prize of the Russian Federation 2004 held at the Grand Kremlim Palace, Moscow on 12. Jun 2005. Anna Netrebko receives the award from President Putin (04:10-05:25)


Anna Netrebko at the Echo Klassik Awards 2005, Philharmonie, München


Anna Netrebko at the Bambi Awards 2006


Anna Netrebko at the Classical Britt Awards 2008


Anna Netrebko receives the Musician of the Year Award 2008 by Musical America

Anna Netrebko, Opera and Concert Hall, Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg 2. May 2009

World opera star Anna Netrebko sings at the "Stars of the Stars" concert "Valery Gergiev and Friends" to be held at the Mariinsky Opera and Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg, on 2. May 2009. Ms. Netrebko will be joined on the stage by world piano star Denis Matsuev. Maestro Valery Gergiev conducts the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra. Tickets range from US$499 to US$812.

Anna Netrebko in L'Elisir d'Amore at the Opera Bastille, Paris in October 2009

Anna Netrebko sings Adina in Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore at the Opera Bastille in Paris in October 2009. Netrebko will be joined by a de-luxe cast including Rolando Villazón as Nemorino, George Petean as Belcore and Paolo Gavanelli as Dottor Dulcamara. The stage director is Laurent Pelly and the conductor Paolo Arrivabeni. Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón sing in 4 performances of the run, on 10., 15., 20. and 23. October 2009.

L’Elisir d’Amore, Opera Bastille, Paris 10. Oct 2009 – Anna Netrebkoª (Adina), Rolando Villazón (Nemorino), George Petean (Belcore), Paolo Gavanelli (Dulcamara), Jaël Azzaretti (Giannetta); Laurent Pelly (Director), Orchestra et Choeurs de l’Opéra National de Paris, Paolo Arrivabeni

L’Elisir d’Amore, Opera Bastille, Paris 15. Oct 2009 – Anna Netrebko (Adina), Rolando Villazón (Nemorino), George Petean (Belcore), Paolo Gavanelli (Dulcamara), Jaël Azzaretti (Giannetta); Laurent Pelly (Director), Orchestra et Choeurs de l’Opéra National de Paris, Paolo Arrivabeni

L’Elisir d’Amore, Opera Bastille, Paris 20. Oct 2009 – Anna Netrebko (Adina), Rolando Villazón (Nemorino), George Petean (Belcore), Paolo Gavanelli (Dulcamara), Jaël Azzaretti (Giannetta); Laurent Pelly (Director), Orchestra et Choeurs de l’Opéra National de Paris, Paolo Arrivabeni

L’Elisir d’Amore, Opera Bastille, Paris 23. Oct 2009 – Anna Netrebko (Adina), Rolando Villazón (Nemorino), George Petean (Belcore), Paolo Gavanelli (Dulcamara), Jaël Azzaretti (Giannetta); Laurent Pelly (Director), Orchestra et Choeurs de l’Opéra National de Paris, Paolo Arrivabeni

Season 2009-2010

Anna Netrebko will sing Anna Bolena at the Teatro Real, Madrid, in 2012

Anna Netrebko has performed only once in Spain. It was on War and Peace at the Teatro Real of Madrid on 23. April and 2. May 2001 with the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra conducted by Valery Gergiev. In a recent interview published on ElPais.com, Anna Netrebko announces that she will be back in Madrid in 3 years time. Gérard Mortier, the new Artistic Director of the Teatro Real, has proposed her to sing Anna Bolena.

El fenómeno Netrebko - El País 21. March 2009

The Spanish digital newspaper ElPaís.com publishes an interview to Anna Netrebko. The interview took place at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in London, where she was singing the first run of Bellini`s I Capuleti e I Montecchi with Elina Garanca.

On the same issue of ElPaís.com:
La bella Romeo - El País (España) - Madrid, Spain
Sed de divos - El País (España) - Madrid, Spain

Lucia di Lammermoor, Wiener Staatsoper, Wien 14. Mar 2009

Huge success of Anna Netrebko in an outstanding performance of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor on her very much awaited return to the stage at the Wiener Staatsoper on 14. March 2009, the first of a series of 4 completely sold-out performances, with tickets on the black market and agencies sold for more than 600 Eur. Standing ovations lasting for many minutes make the singers playing the leading roles, leaded by Anna Netrebko and Giuseppe Filianoti, and the conductor Marco Armiliato, to appear once and again to the curtain call.

Anna Netrebko did make an outstanding performance singing the title role. As she has recognized in recent interviews, the second act is the one she prefers. I would agree on this point and she was really great there. As everyone knows, one of the most awaited moments of the opera is the mad scene. And Anna was also superb here. Both from the points of view of the singing and the acting. She just captivated the audience. This performance has been also a special one because the glass harmonica, instead of the flute, has been used for the first time at the Wiener Staatsoper. The results were very beautiful and they were later on stressed out at the curtain call, when Anna Netrebko delivered special ovations addressed to the glass harmonica player. She addressed also ovations to the prompter.

Giuseppe Filianoti as Edgardo was pretty well and his singing was largely rewarded by the ovations and bravos from the audience. Nevertheless, I did not found his performance fully convincing. Much more convincing was George Petean as Enrico and also Stefan Kocán as Raimondo. Particlularly weak was the singing of Marian Talaba as Arturo. The orchestra was wonderfully conducted by Marco Armiliato.

On-line Press reviews
Staatsopern-Publikum feiert Netrebko - Wien ORF.at
Staatsoper: Warten auf den Wahnsinn - 15.03.2009 18:14 WALTER WEIDRINGER (Die Presse)
Königin Anna, die Wahnsinnige - 15. März 2009 17:33 ERNST P. STROBL (SN)
Einfach eine Ausnahmekünstlerin - 16.03.2009 Kurier
Comeback mit kleinen Schönheitsfehlern - 16.03.2009 Renate Wagner - Neues Volksblatt
Schön, dass sie endlich wieder da ist - 15.03.2009 Kurier

Photo Album
Curtain calls photos [1-3] by Herbert

Stage door photo by Herbert

Videoclips
Anna Netrebko - Mad Scene


ORF TV News

Video recorded from ORF TV by Georg

Related news
Annas Glamour-Show in Wien, Oe24.at, Wien 22. März 2009

Concert of Anna Netrebko at the Salle Pleyel, Paris 1. Oct 2009

Anna Netrebko will sing in a concert at Salle Pleyel, Paris on 1. October 2009. Ms. Netrebko will be joined on the stage by tenor Massimo Giordano. Keri-Lynn Wilson will conduct the Orchestre National de l’Île-de-France.

Season 2009-2010

Anna Netrebko returns to the Wiener Staatsoper as Lucia

On 14. March 2009, exactly two months after her very much awaited return to the stage at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, after a 6 month break due to the birth of her son Tiago Arua, Anna Netrebko returns to the Wiener Staatsoper to sing the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor, being her role debut at the opera house. Ms. Netrebko is scheduled in 4 longtime sold-out performances on 14., 17., 20. and 24. March 2009. Anna Netrebko will share the stage with Giuseppe Filianoti as Edgardo, George Petean as Enrico, Stefan Kocán as Raimondo, Peter Jelosits as Normanno, Juliette Mars as Elisa and Marian Talaba as Arturo. Boleslaw Barlog is the director of the production and Marco Armiliato conducts the Chor und Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper.

Her return to the stage was on 14. and 17. January 2009 singing the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor at the Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg, with Sergei Skorokhodov (14. January 2009) and Sergei Semishkur (17. January 2009) sharing the role of Edgardo and Alexei Markov as Enrico. Ms. Netrebko sang the same title role at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, on 26., 29. January and 3. and 7. February 2009 with Rolando Villazón (26. and 29. January 2009), Giuseppe Filianoti (3. February 2009) and Piotr Beczala (7. February 2009) sharing the role of Edgardo and Mariusz Kwiecien as Enrico. The performance on 7. February was transmitted live to movie theaters around the world at the Met Live in HD performances series.

Ms. Netrebko returns to the Wiener Staatsoper after singing Giulieta with Elina Garanca as Romeo in 2 outstanding performances of Bellini's I Capuleti e I Montecchi at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 2. and 5. March 2009.

On-line Press Reports
Netrebko kehrt an die Staatsoper zurück - ORF.at - Wien, Austria
Netrebkos Comeback: Anna und der reine Wahnsinn - Die Presse
Anna Netrebko: Heimkehr nach Wien - Oe24.at
Netrebko to return to the State Opera - Austrian Times
Anna Netrebko kehrt auf die Bühne in Wien zurück - Salzburger Nachrichten
Anna Netrebko kehrt auf die Bühne der Staatsoper zurück - Die Presse

I Capuleti e I Montecchi, ROH, London 5. Mar 2009

I Capuleti e i Montecchi
Tragedia lirica in two acts (1830)
Music by Vincenzo Bellini
Libretto by Felice Romani

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Thursday, March 05 7:30 PM

Cast
Giulietta: Anna Netrebko
Romeo: Elina Garanca
Tebaldo: Dario Schmunck
Capelio: Eric Owens
Lorenzo: Giovanni Battista Parodi

Production
Musical Director: Mark Elder
Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Reports
This is a wonderful report written by Heather Baker, a regular reader of the blog and blog-friend, after she attended the performance of I Capuleti e I Montecchi at the ROH on 5. March 2009. Thanks Heather for such a live, fresh and moving report!

Students are often said to be penniless, relying on free student overdrafts to help meet the growing need for alcohol and 24-hour “glamour.” Whilst this is true for many of us, including myself I have to admit, at Durham University, four of us Music students decided that we would do something different for a change. Despite my ties with Opera North, a professional Opera Company in the North of England, I have always wanted to see an Opera at the heart of the cultural and musical scene in England: London. Considering it was purely through a chance visit to Anna Netrebko’s official website that made me decide a career in Opera was for me, it was especially nice that the time I was revelling in my music studies, Anna Netrebko was coming back to the British stage. Tickets bought, train seats reserved (a whole three hour travel), we all made our way down to London on a sunny Thursday morning. What was particularly nice was one of my friend’s father managed to check us into two rooms at a Covent Garden 5* hotel which made the whole experience particularly special! At no cost I may add! Our seats were on the left side of the Ampitheatre. Whilst the cheapest, they were by no means bad seats as the quality of the sound and the view was fantastic. I would even say they were probably the best. Even better was the bass-baritone Bryn Terfel sat practically next to me and who shook hands with Simon and myself and had a small conversation with us during the interval.

The Opera itself was just something out of this world! Reviews from the “La Prima” that Monday had said the two lead singers were phenomenal in their craft and that night was no exception. Both sang with maturity, passion and a sense of deep involvement in their parts. It has to be said, however, that Elina Garanca stole the show with her breathtaking voice and musicality as Romeo. Her curtain call certainly raised the loudest cheers amongst the audience and quite rightly too. Anna Netrebko was by no means playing second fiddle, however. Whilst Bellini likes to play with leaps between registers at intervals larger than an octave, Netrebko seemed a little hesitant on a couple of occasions. This, nonetheless, did not detract from her overall performance as Giulietta and she created a character wholly believable if one which was slightly older than a teenager. This role does suit Netrebko very well technically as well as musically and it is only sad that, despite the name, this opera bears no resemblance as such to the Shakespeare tragedy which very much focuses on Juliet rather than Romeo. Netrebko’s job, therefore, was to portray a character which seemed less strong than Romeo’s. Generally, hence the all-male Chorus, this is very much a masculine Opera.

The rest of the principals were not as strong as the females. Eric Owens singing Capellio was not very confident and his Italian diction was not very good. One phrase in particular during the Act 1, Scene 2, made no sense at all and was very mushy in its phrasing. A couple sitting on the other side of us, lamented over how poor Giovanni Battista Parodi’s Lorenzo was and did not applaud him during the curtain call. Whilst I think that rather sad, his and Dario Schmunck’s Tebaldo were vocally rather weak and there were problems with intonation in both parts. The male chorus were on top form, I thought, and added to the production a sense of drama.

I personally thought the production under the design and directorship of Pier Luigi Pizzi was very effective. The Chorus colour coordinated to show off the factions and a classical feel with the pillars and a stone table which doubled as Giulietta’s bed in the second scene. (one rather amusing moment was Garanca leaping off the bed, Netrebko on it, and accidently pushing it backwards so it travelled a few meters across the stage!)

The opera over, the four of us decided that because we were musicians, we would go to the stage door to hopefully speak to the stars of the night. They came, we saw, but for me in particular, no words could come out. It ended up with one of the girls who is Russian to introduce me to Netrebko in Russian and how I was training to be an Opera singer. It is interesting to note that when one is that close to a person they admire, it is easy to lose all one’s senses. Posing for the photograph, Ms. Netrebko put her arm around my shoulder. I was hesitant to do the same; should I even be touching somebody of this calibre? I completely ignored that thought... I must have looked like I was completely out of my mind to Ms. Netrebko, however, as I realised if it wasn’t for this woman, I would be at Durham or elsewhere reading Classics and Ancient Greek, not Music! All in all, it was a fantastic night out which proved that sometimes, going to an Opera in the middle of a large, expensive city needn’t be too pricey. We were very lucky and our facebook profiles are ablaze with photographs and videos of that day which we will no doubt treasure for a very long time.

Heather Baker,
College of St. Hild & St. Bede, University of Durham

Anna Netrebko: the many layers of a Russian doll - Telegraph.co.uk, 3. March 2009

The Telegraph has published the article Anna Netrebko: the many layers of a Russian doll written by Jasper Rees.

Breaking News - Piotr Beczala replaces Rolando Villazón in Iolanta, Baden-Baden

The Festpielhaus Baden-Baden website announces that Polish tenor Piotr Beczala joins Anna Netrebko, replacing Rolando Villazón as Graf Tristan Vaudemont, in the four performances of Iolanta at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden on 18., 21., 24. and 27. July 2009. Valery Gergiev conducts the Mariinsky Orchestra and Chorus.

Anna Netrebko and Piotr Beczala have been singing together in Rigoleto at the ROH in 2005, La Traviata at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 2007 and Lucia di Lammermoor at the Met in 2009, replacing Rolando Villazón. They are also scheduled to sing together in La Traviata at the Opernhaus Zürich in 2009 and La Bohème at the Met in 2010.

Related posts
Breaking News - Rolando Villazón withdraws from all performances of Iolantha in Baden-Baden
Anna Netrebko Performances Database