“Amata dalle tenebre” album cover from annanetrebko.com.
Anna Netrebko is my favorite soprano of sopranos that I have heard in person and in my top five of all time. I have heard her in two Met Opera productions, Eugene Onegin and Adriana Lecouvreur; she was spectacular in both. So, I take notice when she puts out a new album; see my blog report on her allbum “Verismo”. Her album “Amata dalle tenebre”, just released today from Deutsche Grammophon, is her first new album in five years. Her aria selections for this album fall in the more dramatic opera roles she has moved towards in recent years.
Ms. Netrebko, just turned fifty in a thus far 26-year professional career; she now possesses the fame and stature along with the exquisite voice and extraordinary singing ability that allows her to be able to choose what she will sing, and at this point in her development, she knows what she wishes to sing. Her heavy performance schedule prevent her from making an album for quite a while, but the cancellation of performances due to the COVID-19 pandemic gave her the time to work on this one. This Times News interview with Ms. Netrebko provides interesting background to the album: https://time.news/today-i-am-performing-what-i-like/.
The album’s title translates from Italian as “beloved by the shadow” with the shadow being the darker aspects of life. The album’s repertoire is primarily a combination of German and Italian arias, many of them well known dealing with love confronted by loss and death. My personal favorites from the album are two Russian arias, especially “Akh, istomilas ya gorem” from Tchaikovsky’s opera, Queen of Spades, a Russian soprano singing Tchaikovsky; this track and a YouTube video were relased a couple of months ago. It was interesting to hear her sing “Ritorna vincitor” from Verdi’s Aida and “Liebestod” from Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, both quite beautiful. The album is a serious power drive all the way through, no let up along the way. Accompaniment for the arias was provided by the Teatro Alla Scala orchestra led by conductor Riccardo Chailly.
Below is the YouTube video for “Akh, istomilas ya gorem”; if the video does not show in your browser, click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB79qEAFLAI
As I listened to the album for the first time, the thought that kept popping into my head was that the album really should have been titled “Anna Netrebko Shows Off”. To be fair though, Ms. Netrebko is a consummate professional who obviously spent the time necessary to sing these arias exactly as she feels they should be treated. Besides, what are you going to do. Ms. Netrebko has earned her divahood. Bow down.
The Fan Experience: “Amata dalle tenebre” is available on a 2-disc CD and vinyl from venders such as Amazon. It is also available on common streaming services. I listened to it on Apple Music. It is also available on the free classical music streaming service, idagio.com. Many of the selections are available on YouTube.com.
Anna Netrebko’s next U.S. performance is scheduled for April/May at the Met Opera in Turandot, a new role for her. If you can make it to London at the end of January, you can hear her in another new role for her, Abigail in Verdi’s Nabucco.