Miss Netrebko as Anna Bolena

Alright.

This post marks the first installment in a series COMMANDOpera will be posting on Miss Netrebko’s assumption of the title role of Donizetti’s masterpiece Anna Bolena. Perhaps there is no other opera production in recent years which reflects such enormous expectations within all circles of opera. I called publicly on February 2008 here for just this precise casting (although I advised first The Royal Opera House, then Teatro alla Scala, The Met had the wisdom to put it together first). This production will overshadow any other offerings at any house that season. The unspoken reason it will be the most watched for and talked about? Miss Netrebko is without question regarded as the reigning soprano of today. Say what you will about the supremacy of both Miss Damrau and Miss Dessay, Miss Netrebko is de facto the most influential artist in opera today. While I certainly do not agree with those who ascribe to her the moniker the ‘new Callas’, Miss Netrebko certainly moulds a portrait of a character in the old tradition. This I believe (aside from her glamorous beauty) is what makes her central to the minds of the opera going public. Anna Bolena however is a risk on a completely different level for Miss Netrebko as an artist. She is one of the few artists who is at a stage where people will care enough to be watching her mature work in terms of legacy. AND the opera going public has every note of Anna Bolena at their disposal, in particular the interpretation of Miss Callas to whom Miss Netrebko is so often compared. IF Miss Netrebko does NOT do well in this role opening night at the Metropolitan for the 2011-2012 season (which I will assuredly be in attendance live blogging with a well heeled coterie), it will be the FIRST particular noted down the corridor of operatic history for this artist.

The first subsequent post will proceed with an in depth comparative regarding the actual history of Anne Bolyen and the salient points the composer has aligned the work with to give the reader a feel of the woman herself. Next will concern the merits of various approaches at critical points by other established artists before Miss Netrebko. Finally, what Miss Netrebko must do with her vocal instrument, and intellectual approach to the work. This final post will deal rather technically regarding vocal style and perhaps will not be of great interest to the average reader.

To start things off, this video is critical to further understand future writings on this subject.