Diva: The Very Best of Anna Netrebko (2018)

performed by Anna Netrebko (soprano), Elina Garanca (mezzo-soprano), Rolando Villazón (tenor), Yusif Eyvazov (tenor), City of Prague Philharmonic Chorus (choir, chorus)
composed by Arrigo Boito, Edvard Grieg, Ernesto de Curtis, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Igor Krutoy, Jacques Offenbach, Léo Delibes, Sergey Rachmaninov, Umberto Giordano, Vincenzo Bellini, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

A greatest-hits album ought to stick to the middle of the road, playing to what an artist does best. Yet it ought not simply wallow in past glories: this collection from Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, arguably the best-known soprano of the present day, hits the spot and can safely be recommended to newcomers. Netrebko is at her best in core Italian repertory like Casta Diva from Bellini's Norma or Libiamo ne 'lieti calici from Verdi's La Traviata. Sample track three to hear the latter: the soprano has an abundant tonal ... Read More

A greatest-hits album ought to stick to the middle of the road, playing to what an artist does best. Yet it ought not simply wallow in past glories: this collection from Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, arguably the best-known soprano of the present day, hits the spot and can safely be recommended to newcomers. Netrebko is at her best in core Italian repertory like Casta Diva from Bellini's Norma or Libiamo ne 'lieti calici from Verdi's La Traviata. Sample track three to hear the latter: the soprano has an abundant tonal production that enables her to take the kind of chances that generate real charisma. Netrebko's husband, tenor Yusif Eyvazov, is present on this track, which was one of three newly recorded for the album, and there's no clearer indication of what she's about than how he stays out of her way. The album also contains verismo arias, into which Netrebko has moved as her voice has darkened in mid-career. Picking out holes in her armament is but another indicator of her dominant position, and... Read Less