Sean M. Gross talking about Anna Netrebko

Sean M. Gross, Director of Marketing and Special Projects at 21C Media Group, is Anna Netrebko's Press and Public Relations representative for North America. Before joining 21C Media Group, Sean was an associate in the vocal division at IMG Artists where he was also working with Anna Netrebko among other opera singers.

In December 2007, an interview of Albert Imperato, Founding Partner of 21C Media Group, to Sean Gross, was published in the Gramophone Magazine. In the interview Sean share with us some of his most treasured memories of working with Anna.

Anna's extremely multi-faceted. She's an excellent cook. She makes the most amazing blinis and different kinds of Russian salads - I can't even tell you what they are, but they are delicious! She's quite the fashionista, but I suppose that's not such a secret. She's also really gifted as a visual artist. She draws beautifully -some of her sketches are amazing. She has one in her apartment of these Rubens angels that she copied and people can't believe that it's her work.

I was in London with Anna last October [2006] and there was a party after her Barbican concert at the bar at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. After a sufficient amount of libation our group of 30 people starting playing spin the bottle. That was an interesting experience! I didn't kiss Anna, but it was nonetheless an interesting experience! A couple of years ago while I was at IMG she surprised us at the office by showing up with a blender that had a milkshake freshly prepared. She had walked from her apartment on the Upper West side with it and told us that we shouldn't worry - there wasn't too much vodka in it. That really shows how sweet and thoughtful Anna Netrebko is. Finally, there was her Russian Christmas party in New York last January. She had decorated her tree in what I imagine to be “typical Russian fashion” - or perhaps it was just typical Anna fashion. Some of the ornaments were bigger than my head! After eating loads of Russian food and drinking lots of vodka she pulled out these masks she had bought. Russians love masks, and we all put on the masks and turned to each other and took pictures and it was incredibly funny. Then we played opera charades, which is exactly as it sounds - and definitely only for music geeks.

Read the full interview in Gramophone