Siren’s Song – Anna Netrebko

Anna Netrebko – cover from her album, Sempre Libra

Stunning soprano and actress Anna Netrebko is currently hitting all the right notes while taking her career to euphoric new levels. The raven haired chanteuse can be seen as the female lead in the international smash hit feature film La Boheme as well as a star in the opening night slot of the new Fall season at St Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre. Having consistently swept opera awards ceremonies worldwide, the smoldering Russian goddess with a golden voice is a true life Cinderella story, having come light years away from cleaning floors at the Mariinsky to performing there as a major star.

Born 18 September 1971 in Krasnodar, southern Russia, Anna Netrebko trained at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory where she developed her astounding voice. During her first audition for the Mariinsky, Anna Netrebko was recognized from her work as a cleaner by conductor Valery Gergiev who later became her vocal mentor.

At 22 she made her major debut as Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Mariinsky Theatre. Since then, the opera superstar has gone on to amaze and enchant audiences across the globe, appearing with almost all major opera companies worldwide. Complemented by her striking Post-Soviet good looks, she‘s become renowned as a talented interpreter of Russian operatic roles such as Marfa in the Tsar’s Bride and Natasha in War and Peace by Prokofiev.

Regarded as one of the world’s best sopranos and often referred to as “Audrey Hepburn with a voice”, Anna Netrebko has amassed a large number of awards and recorded a succession of hit albums including Opera Arias. These best-selling releases give listeners a continual reminder of her exquisite voice.

Anna Netrebko in Charles Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette

One of Anna’s greatest assets is her versatility and alluring ability to be all things to all men.

Listed on Playboy’s countdown of the “Sexiest Babes of Classical Music”, Anna Netrebko was also the first opera star to be named on Time Magazine’s list of 100 most influential people. In 2005 she was awarded the Russian State Prize, the country’s most prestigious award for arts and literature, and in 2008 was honored as “People’s Artist of Russia”.

In addition to her spectacular achievements as vocalist and actress, Anna Netrebko has made a great success of her personal life. In 2008, she married Uruguayan baritone Erwin Schrott and in the same whirlwind year gave birth to her first child, son Tiago Arua Schrott.

Like many Russian women of her generation, she’s able to skilfully juggle a successful marriage, being a mother, a mighty talent and an award winning career.
Her role as Mimi in musical love story La Boheme, a big budget silver screen version of Puccini’s opera classic is a dazzling diamond in an already glittering career.

The Russian beauty has a strong bond with her native land giving regular performances in operas such as Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta, which will open the Fall season at the Mariinsky.