Opera Chic

Anna's Chauffeur Speaks; The SF Chronicle Savages Her Violetta

The Examiner publishes (scroll halfway down the page) an email from Paul Ziller, the super who the other night in San Francisco played Anna's/Violetta's chauffeur in La Traviata. An excerpt:

I looked in the rear view mirror and whose face was it I saw...but Anna Netrebko's. I nearly swallowed my tongue. It was an out-of-body experience of sorts. Those now famous eyes were looking back at me (or, at least past me), and her beautiful rhinestone earrings and tiara shimmered with the light coming from the nearby stage lights. I felt like I was in an exotic fragrance commercial

Unfortunately Joshua Kosman, the "Chronicle" music critic, wasn't as smitten as this excitable nice young man:

The evening's shocker was the Violetta of soprano Anna Netrebko, a worrisome assemblage of technical problems and stagey mannerisms that came to life only in the opera's short final act.

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Gone was the sleek, silvery tone that once coursed with thrilling precision through the most demanding vocal assignments. Gone, too, was the focus on emotional and dramatic detail that brought fresh insights to a range of roles.

In their place was a dark-hued, sluggish sound, deployed with laborious uncertainty and awkward breath control (I can't recall the last time I was so keenly aware of an opera singer's breathing - and no, it wasn't just the TB speaking). The glittery roulades of "Sempre libera" in Act 1, as Violetta decides to embrace the pleasures of the demimonde for good, sounded crude and approximate.

Then her singing -- not her acting -- apparently got better.

On the other hand, the dude from the San Jose Mercury News heard some "liquid amber" so a good night was had by almost all.

Green Eggs And Sushi With Netrebko But She'd Rather Order Out For Mexican (She Does Not Mean Villazon)

A San Francisco Chronicle reporter has sushi in Netrebko's apartment, where the singer proceeds to tell her that she went from a size 4 (before pregnancy) to a size 8.

We're not sure if that's American sizes, French sizes, Russian sizes, or if it's simply yardage.

Anna Netrebko in Versace & Chopard, Promotes a Gig

Hey y'all! It's Anna! Yesterday, the Russian superstar was in Munich (where she's currently banging out Mimi at the Bayerische Staatsoper) to chat about her upcoming concert, Das Klassik Open Air Des Jahres. The open air concert will be held at Munich's Königsplatz on July 10, where she'll be singing in duet with Dmitri Hvorostovsky, conducted by Gergiev and his Mariinsky Orchestra.

Though dressed simply in black & tan, Anna brought out her nouveau riche side with a gold Versace purse and a Chopard ladies watch, which also matched her gold laquer manicure.

Click the link below for a couple more pictures...

Cruising Netrebko: From Soprano To Lounge Singer

Anna Netrebko not only showed up at the christening of a ship, the "Mein Schiff" (there's also a casino on board).

 

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She also sang a song specially written for the ship -- watch the video below.

 

Opera Chic Exclusive -- Jeffrey Vanderveen on Netrebko: "She Is Not Pregnant"

Jeffrey D. Vanderveen, managing director of Universal Music Classical Artists Management, asked by Opera Chic to comment on the increasingly insistent voices alleging that Anna Netrebko was pregnant with her second child, just told Opera Chic:

"She is not pregnant".

And the London cancellation must therefore be attributed to the flu.

(Pregnant?) Anna Netrebko's Schedule: What's At Stake After Her First Cancellation

Opera Chic posted this past Saturday the persistent rumors of a second Netrebko pregnancy after the birth last September of little Tiago: and earlier today, she canceled a London engagement.

Let's see what's at stake in the near future (2009 only), as per Netrebko's official schedule:

~Continue reading after the jump~

(Pregnant?) Netrebko Out Of Tomorrow Night's Royal Festival Hall Concert

Anna Netrebko is suffering from "influenza" and has cancelled the concert @ Royal Festival Hall tomorrow night. Opera Chic reader "Manou" has received the alert from Royal Festival Hall.

As per the Opera Chic exclusive this past Saturday night, there's talk of a possible pregnancy.

Anna Netrebko: Shake What Your Mama Gave You!

Damn, girl! Anna Netrebko gets down with Dmitri Hvorostovsky! Here's a clip of Anna in the May 16 concert at Volkswagen Halle in Braunschweig. (Clip via the adorable Elisa Felici).

Anna and Erwin's Joy: A Sibling for Tiago?

First you hear that, yeah, it's not just those who are the closest to Anna Netrebko who never stopped hearing about how much she had loved being pregnant with Tiago (her baby boy born in September 2008, his daddy is Anna's partner Erwin Schrott: the three of them in the photo below are gracefully posing right in front of the store of one of Anna's big corporate sponsors) and that she was thinking of having another baby sometime in a not so distant future. (And the diva herself gushed to the public about how wonderful pregnancy was.

Then you hear that the Met might have already been alerted, confidentially, that Anna might, just might, not be available this coming December.

One couldn't help notice, meanwhile, that the latest pictures of Anna in Zurich from two weeks ago showed the glowing soprano covering her stomach in quite a few shots. We wonder if a rightfully proud new daddy hadn't been overheard gushing the news to his colleagues.

Vöslauer Dumps Replaces Netrebko With Brit Supermodel, 26

British supermodel Agyness Deyn is the new face of Austrian mineral water company Vöslauer; she replaces inveterate wasser trinker Anna Netrebko.

Here's Netrebko's old ad:

The (by now) oldtimey video:

Babby Anna Family Album

Since everybody loved so much the quite adorable photos of baby Tiago, here's historical evidence of la Netrebka herself in her baby period -- before she took the opera world by storm after the famous middle period as a janitor.

More Anna after the jump --

Tiago Aruã & Anna Netrebko, Erwin Schrott's Pride & Joy

The latest photo of Anna Netrebko & Erwin Schrott's 8-month-old little bebbe, Tiago Aruã. Little Tiago was born in early September 2008.

~*OC*~ tips her hat to Elisa Felici for the photo!

Elisa pointed us to this article where there are even more photos! 

 

Anna Netrebko's Iced-Out, Blinged-Out Appearance at Opernhaus Zürich

Opera Chic is lucky to have so many well-connected friends from all around Europe who keep her in-the-loop of so many wonderful, operatic happenings. So it is from a lovely friend from Switzerland that OC heard the first report of Anna Netrebko's Violetta premiere for Opernhaus Zürich, and she is gracious to pass on the report. Pictures above and below also provided by her thoughtful friend.

Anna's return to the Opernhaus Zürich was "a gathering of local and international celebrities", and our source tells us that, inevitably, spotted among the crowds were retired bank magnates & moguls, and well-heeled (and well-plastic-surgeried) socialites. And continuing:

"In a performance more mature than her 2005 Salzburg Violetta, there were high expectations, and those expectations were fully met. Anna Netrebko's immaculate singing paired with fine acting made her Violetta very natural and convincing."

"Piotr Beczala as Alfredo also was very fine , although a bit tense in the top notes. He has a wonderful vocal tone which matches very well with Anna's, hence their duets were nothing short of gorgeous."

"Marco Armiliato led a rousing (if here and there a bit wobbly) orchestra with ample pace and fervor."

But the best bit:

"The evening was sponsored by Chopard where Anna Netrebko, as we know, is under contract. So in the lounge you could admire the latest jewelery collection presented in glass showcases guarded by security men, and in Act II Scene 2 Violetta showed off a six figure necklace and matching earrings - recognizably one of the pieces on display in the lounge."

Brand ambassador!

Anna Netrebko Shows Up for Traviata Rehearsals in Fashion

Here's a behind-the-scenes clip of a giggling Anna Netrebko rehearsing with Piotr Beczala shot by SF1, Switzerland's national TV. The two took the stage last night as Violetta & Alfredo in Anna's Opernhaus Zürich Traviata premiere.

Anna talks, rocking a pair of Gucci sunglasses and a beaded Escada top. And we're mentally making out with the camerman for zooming in on her iced-out, Swarovski-covered BlackBerry flip on top of her Traviata manuscript. ~Living the dream~ Someone needs to introduce her to Christian Audigier/Ed Hardy already.

Anna Netrebko's Traviata in Zürich

Netrebko madness has descended on Switzerland, as tomorrow evening she'll take the Opernhaus Zürich stage for the first time as Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata. The three performances (April 22, 26 & 29) of Jürgen Flimm's production have been sold-out for ages. She's like the wii of opera singers.

After Zürich, she's off to Wiener Staatsoper in May for three more performances of Violetta, and then stateside at the San Francisco Opera in June for five more Violettas.

Tomorrow night in Zürich, Anna will be lead by Marco Armiliato on the podium, Piotr Beczala as Alfredo, and Juan Pons as Germont.

Zürich released a few pictures:

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Netrebko & Garanča's Capu-luv: Where The Boys Aren't

Maybe you slept through the weekend and missed out on a monumental drop from DG? Which one, you ask? Oooooh, that 2-disc drop where Anna Netrebko and Elīna Garanča are getting rather cozy on the cover. Vincenzo Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi has been given the old dust-off by the marketing wizards.

With Anna Netrebko as Juliet and Elīna Garanča as Romeo (and Joseph Calleja as Tebaldo), the 2-CD set is from a live April 2008 recording at Vienna's Konzerthaus conducted by Fabio Luisi, doing his thang with the Wiener Symphoniker.

DG describes on their website "Anna's and Elīna's voices match like pearls from one oyster". Gross.

Opera Chic took some screenshots, but you can go here for the secksiness yourselves.

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Annuska's Wiener Staatsoper Lucia di Lammermoor

Vienna's Staatsoper is in the midst of Anna Netrebko ~madness~, where she's currently singing 4 sold-out shows of Lucia di Lammermoor -- yeah, the same Lucia that she's been singing since January 2009 after many months of pregnancy leave (first at the Mariinsky, then at the Metropolitan), so we're guessing she's got it down now. Opposite her is Giuseppe Filianoti's Edgardo, and Marco Armiliato is on the podium.

The first clip includes feedback from Mexican tenor Ramón Vargas, Anna's ~girlfriend~ Ludmilla "Lucy" Diakovska, and manager Jeffrey Vanderveen.

This second clip speaks again with Ramón Vargas, but finally we catch sight of Filianoti.

Netrebko Out Of Tomorrow Night's "Capuleti" @ Covent Garden

Anna Netrebko pulled out of tomorrow night's I Capuleti e i Montecchi at Covent Garden due to fatigue.

She will be replaced by Eri Nakamura.

Anna Netrebko Talks Fashion, Lucia, And Not Missing The Stage

Anna spake to the Daily Telegraph about everything but her former -- now disgraced -- buddy Rolando Villazon.

Anna on the tricky art of finding the right costumes:

"It's me who is singing on stage, not them. I saw one premiere and the main soprano was nice-looking but they made her look horrible. And I thought, I just want to kill that lady who made these costumes. Then the costume designer came on stage to take a bow in an elegant black dress. You know? For herself she didn't create that crap."

Anna on not missing the stage:

"I didn't sing at all for almost half a year and I was not missing it at all," she says. "But it was very fast for me to come back. Unfortunately my first performances were coming together with a very bad cold. I could not cancel because I thought people will say, 'Oh she's just scared!' Or 'It's a disaster after the baby, she's lost the voice.' I came to the theatre with a feeling that I might not finish the performance. Because Lucia is a no-kidding role. But somehow you just take all the forces from your body to make it."

OC's Anna&Rolando Editorial

Scroll down the page or simply click here to read yesterday's editorial.

Anna & Rolando: The Mess At The Met -- The Opera Chic Editorial

She shows up, not in the best shape -- vocally quite sound but unprepared in the new  cadenze that had been prepared for her by the leading musicologist in the field, because she couldn't be bothered, frankly. Her visual publicity material had to be carefully -- and discreetly -- retouched by the Met's hype-obsessed publicity department, given the unflattering appearance of the new mother -- who's very much human, thank goodness -- in many of her unretouched stills.

He shows up, a year after his comeback now, after a carefully orchestrated PR offensive meant to reassure everybody in the business that his shares are still a good investment, that Villazon Inc is ready to roll, again.

(On a sidenote: nevermind all the talk about stuff having been transposed down -- it happens with Lucia, and it's immaterial in this case. By the way, Donizetti wrote the mad scene in F major, for example, it was then sung down a full tone, and the first Ricordi edition has it in E major. The traditional crazy coloratura one is accustomed to, in recordings, would have sounded weird to the composer himself. Lucia is not a coloratura role anyway, but we're digressing now).

Then we saw (and heard) what happened on stage.

A performance (by him) that would have been literally booed off the stage of less forgiving houses; everybody and their sister was recording that night, and the cleaner the recording, the worse he sounds (it's often the opposite). Then it's off to two replacements, one of whom has had problems (of a lesser gravity) of his own but can pull the role off thanks to talent, understanding of the linea di canto, better health and sheer good old fashioned Southern Italian force of will.

She's not dazzling, she's OK. You can't photoshop her in a HD livecast but you can dress and light her more carefully than they did back in Russia last month, so she escapes from the ruins almost unscathed -- at least in a place like the Met, where you basically get an ovation for showing up.

Oh, and his second replacement -- we'll see how he goes, but he's certainly good, solid, and in health. He's not a major star. At his age, it's unlikely he'll ever become one, frankly. He's solid, though. Solid, unfortunately, is not the same as big star, solid does not give you "buzz", and "solid, healthy" is fine but it is not the right material to build hype with. And if your opera house's entire (expensive) game plan rests on massive foundations of hype, well, it pretty much sucks.

Speculation now runs rampant, leaks -- more or less accurate -- flow like watered-down cortisone from one side, "she's mad", "she feels cheated". "She hates him". Really? Breakups are always bad, after all (he does know that already, poor sweet kid).

And silence from the other side, after all his career is at stake now, not hers -- it's easier to lose the baby fat and stay away from the cocktails than to heal one's damaged vocal folds.

He then cancels more engagements. Their (dubbed) movie hasn't gone down that well either (after all, "buxom" and "consumptive" aren't usually written about the same performer in the same performance by critics; in this case, sadly, it happened).

Question: how do you go from a 2005 Traviata for the ages (despite what is at the very least lackluster conducting) to this? Only 40 months later?

Answer: nobody -- except the fans -- cares.

The people who should care, well, they're scouting opera houses and auditions in Eastern Europe and South America as we write, looking for the next next big thing -- thinner, hotter, healthier. The new new thing that will finally save opera from oblivion, that will magically attract that elusive new audience, as the old one grows increasingly older and crankier and inevitably more nostalgic.

Some of those kids out there have good voices, too, besides looking good. They do come awfully cheap, when you sign them.

What makes Opera Chic sad is that, at least, actual artists like Di Stefano and Ricciarelli enjoyed a good run, prior to their crashing into the brick wall of the end of their career.

It was certainly longer than 40 months.

Filianoti's Mark

(Opera Chic reader Gesztenye shared an exclusive picture of Netrebko and Filianoti at The Metropolitan Opera last night).

Netrebko's Madness

Anna & Rolando Have A Bad Night

 

(Photo Credit: Ken Howard.)

Bad night last night at the Met in Lucia di Lammermoor with the utterly glamorous -- and gloriously expensive -- Netrebko/Villazon duo, as Opera Chic at la Scala basked in the silver light of Henri Duparc's music:

Netrebko simply lacked the vocal agility to pull it off. She stinted on much of the usual ornamentation and failed to hit the final high E-flat squarely. The applause that followed was surprisingly tepid for a scene that usually stops the show in its tracks.

For Met audiences who have heard both Natalie Dessay and Diana Damrau triumph as "Lucia" in the last 18 months, the question is why Netrebko should undertake the role at all when her voice is so much better suited to other repertory.

As for Villazon, he sounded in bad shape from his first entrance, an ominous rattle infecting his high notes. During his solo outburst in the wedding scene, his voice cracked and he froze for several seconds, then continued a half-tone lower. Before the curtain rose for the final act, general manager Peter Gelb announced Villazon "was not feeling well" but would continue. He made it, just barely, through his final scene, but the ovation he received was surely more a sympathy vote than a true endorsement.

It's especially worrisome to hear this once-promising Mexican tenor in such ragged shape, since he suffered a vocal crisis nearly two years ago and stopped singing for several months. This was his first Met appearance since he resumed his career in early 2008.

If you're a glass half-full kind of a person, well, at least no one collapsed on stage!
 Still, it pretty much sucks, esp. given how many bad nights Rolandino seems to be having as of late (his comeback happened about a year ago already).

More Trebs, Queen of the Scots, Because You Know You Want It

Postpartum Netrebka as "Lucia" in St. Petersburg is one of the things we can never have enough of -- Opera Chic has a thing for comebacks, and for Anna Bananna, too.

Here, courtesy of Scottish Opera, photo copyright by Natasha Razina, more photos of this Lucia -- Valery Gergiev himself handpicked the Scottish 2007 production of Lucia di Lammermoor directed by John Doyle, sets by Daffyd Burne Jones.

This photo of Anna and little Tiago instead comes courtesy of our friend Val.

Trebs Sings (More Or Less); Ovation Ensues

In the kind words of dear Vera, OC's sweetest Russian friend, not all is well for Netrebko in her Lucia comeback after the pregnancy:

People who were there said that she was not completely all right at the premiere evening, and another singer got ready to replace her. So she didn’t hit all the notes but here the audience is not like the one in Milan: they gave her 20 minutes ovation. The tenor was very good – Skorohodov (I heard him in Flegender Hollander in December and he also was pretty good), baritone Markov whom everyone here seems to love didn’t impress very much. I'll write more after I heard from more people who were at the premiere -- I wasn’t -- and am now worried about the night of the 17. If she will not be all right she may quit.

(Almost) live from Opera Chic's St.Petersburg (Russia, not Florida) bureau, heeeeeeeere's Anna! (another Russian video is here)


And from yesterday's post, big photos from the production scroll down or click here.

Back In Black! New Mom Anna Netrebko Returns to the Opera Stage in Lucia

Russian soprano Anna Netrebko sings Lucia di Lammermoor at St. Petersburg Mariinsky, marking her official return to the opera stage after giving birth in September 2008 to a baby boy.

**Click on the link below to see MORE images of Netrebko's black turtleneck hawtness!**

Netrebko Paints!

Russian celebrities -- among them, Vladimir Putin and Anna Netrebko --contributed paintings for a Jan. 17 charity auction to benefit two hospitals in  St. Petersburg and to help restore a church

The starting price for all paintings in the auction is 20,000 rubles ($628).

She's Back.

So back.

Tiago's loss is the Marijnsky's gain.

2008 Recap: It's Anna's Year to Shine as She Drops Her Fourth Solo DG Recording

Forget 2008 as the Chinese Year of the Female Earth Rat. Instead it's the Chinese Year of the Female Soprano Netrebko. Already 11 months into 2008, la Anna has won an award (or two), sang at a few VIP concerts, relaunched her website, filmed a movie, and even managed to pop out a baby boy with fiance Erwin Schrott. Whoever ain't widdit gotta move widdit!

Now La Anna is poised for her fourth solo Deutsche Grammophon release, and in celebration of the November 11, 2008 drop, DG has given her the royal treatment with a minisite [warning: embedded sound filez]. She's also boasting a whole ethereal butterfly themed photoshoot...methinks the Russian opera singer has been partying with the ex-Mottola Glitter star??

Titled "Souvenirs", Anna fans will be offered a standard version of the CD, or a super deluxe ~limited edition~ package for a little more $$$. The souped-up version includes, in addition to the CD, "a DVD of behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and musical excerpts; [a] beautiful booklet; three postcards and one poster of Netrebko."

Her new CD includes operetta works & melodies by Strauss, Grieg, Dvorák, and Rimsky-Korsakov, among others. Special guests include Polish tenor Piotr Beczala (for Richard Heuberger's Der Opernball "Im chambre séparée"), Elīna Garanča (for Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann Barcarolle), and wee little choirboy Andrew Swait (for Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem "Pie Jesu").

Out of all the tracks, we're looking forward to Anna's take on the traditional Jewish song "Schlof sche, mein Vögele", sung in Yiddish. omg this shayner maidel is gonna make us plotz in our tsimmes. \O_O\ hey /O_O/ ho \^_^/ wee!!!

 

[all images above courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon found here]

Anna Netrebko: She's Right Here & She Ain't Going Nowhere

As if there hasn't been enough news about Anna Netrebko lately, here's a leeeetle beet more. Puccini's La bohème, the Musikfilm, starring Netrebko and Villazón has put online the official poster and trailer in anticipation of the 10 October, 2008 Austrian release date.

You can check out the trailer here and download the poster here.

Live & Uncut: Scans of Tiago Aruã Schrott, Str8 From Austria!

Because O.C. has been blessed with such kind and generous friends, it is our pleasure to share with you the exclusive scans from News Magazin's current feature on Anna Netrebko & Erwin Schrott's newborn baby. Scroll down & click 4 bigger! xoxoxox :-*

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Anna Netrebko/Erwin Schrott Spawn: First Shots of Tiago Aruã Schrott!!

Anna Netrebko & Erwin Schrott unveil the first public shots of her new bebbe via.

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Do You Wanna Be in the Business? The Netrebko/Villazón Phenomenon

Frankfurter Allgemeine is running a nice h0-down on the Netrebko/Villazón marketing phenomenon, discussing various managers/handlers/record label execs Christian Kellersmann, Michael van Almsick, and Jeffrey D. Vanderveen, and exposing just how calculated the bidness is. There's even a quote from Schrott thrown in for good measure. German language only, but it's worth it regardless for the photo gallery.

Playboy Magazine *Discovers* Opera Stars

One of our more deranged readers once asked us to create an "Opera MILF" website as a tribute to the female hawtness of singers and musicians.

Opera Chic declined.

He must have found more receptive ears at Playboy magazine. Link **NSFW**, obvs.

"Which classical babe do you think is the sexiest? Choose your favorite and click on the “SUBMIT” button at the bottom of the page!"

Seriously. "Too Hot To Handel: The Sexiest Babes Of Classical Music".

If you have to vote, vote for Hahn. That's what we're doing early and often.

She's a camgirl, after all.

Here's a compilation of those who are browsing from work. Click for bigger/more legible:

 

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Anna Netrebko Updates her Website, Hilarity Ensues

Recently, Anna Netrebko not only gave birth to a baby boy, but relaunched her official website. Talk about multi-tasking...what *can't* this woman do?!

Netrebko 2.0 is full of new features, photos, media, and promises to get interactive this winter with an exciting element where she'll answer her fanmail via short videos.

In Fun Facts, Anna shares personal information in her own classy way, dropping a curse as part of her philosophy. RAWR! I love the internet because without it you would never get such an intimate glimpse into what deep thoughts our pedestal'd opera stars are really thinking.

And new pictures have been added, like this one below of, "Anna Netrebko at Russian shooting range outside St. Petersburg." Don't mess with this bulletproof diva. She's got a fully loaded tec and she's ready to go hunting!

Tiago Arua Schrott Will Save Opera From Extinction

Friend of Opera Chic, Giorgia of Opèra Bouffe, tells us that the Netrebko-Schrott bebbe's name is:

*~*Tiago Aruã Schrott~*~

BREAKING NEWS: HE IS BORN! ANNA NETREBKO GIVES BIRTH TO 7 lbs 13 oz OPERA MESSIAH

Russian soprano Anna Netrebko has given birth to her first child in a hospital in the Austrian capital of Vienna, local radio reported Friday

RUN BEBBE GRRL RUN! Anna Netrebko's Mad Dash From the Euro-Paps!

Paparazzi beware! Anna Netrebko isn't pleased. She was recently snapped making an appearance @ Salzburg's Haus für Mozart (née Kleines Festspielhaus) on July 31st for a performance of Mozart's Don Giovanni.

Hopelessly devoted Anna Netrebko strapped her third-trimesterness into a pair of golden Birkenstocks to cheer on boytoy Erwin Schrott, who was appearing as a secksually-lethal Leporello in Claus Guth’s modernish, convoluted production for the 2008 Salzburger Festspiele.

Does homegirl think she's Lindsay Lohan all of a sudden? Or is she just giving us ~~jazz hands~~? WE C U SILLY GIRL!

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Stand By Your Man: Rolando Gets Kinky In Salzburg

Even if preggerified Anna Netrebko had to pull out of her commitment for Salzburg's Roméo Et Juliette, the show goes on as planned with the heavily-hyped Nino Machaidze (Public Enemy's words of wisdom have seldom sounded more appropriate) stepping in to replace La Trebka, Rolando goes ahead as poor Roméo.

As we can see in the photo above, during rehersals he got himself involved in some kinkly role play operatic stuff, pretending that bewby Nino (funnily enough, a dude's name in Italian) is faraway Anna.

The duly sold-out production opens Saturday.

"She is Simply a Goddess on Stage": Schrott on His BB's Mama

Erwin Schrott, who just launched his shiny-new, official website -- via Decca Music Group, of course -- gushes over his future baby's mama, saying: "Even though the baby isn't born yet, Anna is already a great mother. I knew it from the start." **coughs**. We like it when he sings & looks puuurty...like below, str8 e-chillaxing from his e-gallery.

Hawt Schrott Dishes on Anna in Das Opernglas: Don't Call Us Opera's Newest Power Couple!

German opera magazine, Das Opernglas, is carrying an interview with Erwin Schrott, where he is also this month's coverboy. If you don't want sexy time with Schrott, check yourself before you wreck yourself. Lusted after still, but I swear I've seen this picture in the window of a Midtown hair salon as "generic ambiguous hair model".

Schrott reveals that after mating with la Netrebko, he's a better cook, and he's learning Russian (while teaching her Spanish). He is mortified to be labeled as opera's new dream team, isn't having any part of it, and claims that they are a completley normal couple. o ok. Just your average couple that travels weekly around the world, gets $$$ tickets to VIP events, and has boxes of Jimmy Choos and 15K Escada gowns hanging in the closet. yah.

Go to Das Opernglas to access the online article...but no direct linkage allowed, so you'll have to dig around yourselves.

Just When You Thought Another Day Dawned, More Schönbrunn Fun!

O.C., like a flash of lightning striking down your computer *zoom zoom* has more media! After liveblogging the Schloss Schönbrunn concert from last night with the trifecta of *~opera superstars~* -- Rolando Villazón, Plácido Domingo, and Anna Netrebko -- O.C. made you a flickr stream of 73 images captured from her plasma television. Go here for the spoils of last night. I curated some of my favorites below:

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Netrebko, We Saw What You Did There!!

ok ok, fine whatevs....she's like 11 months pregnant and it's the ~summer~. We've *been* there (minus that whole weird "with fetus" part). But we discovered that our favorite pregnant Russian soprano pulled an unforgivable sartorial faux-pas! *gasps*

Digging through recent photos, we came across pictures of Trebs just _one week ago_ at the June 21, 2008 Gala Ball for Valery Gergiev's White Nights Festival of the St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theatre. There she was, in St. Petersburg @ the Catherine Palace, wearing the same exact dress that she wore for last night's outdoor concert gala @ Vienna's Schloss Schönbrunn (with the same headband/hairstyle, too). C4urselvs teh horrar:

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Just to refresh your memory, here was Netrebko last night in Vienna...hmmmm:

Anna, honey, c'mon. we seened it all on teh intarwebz. You're in J.Lo league...you could buy $700 cashmere blankets for your baby and $300 suede play-mats if you want. And gawd knows this isn't gonna be your first pregnancy. Don't pull a Kathy Battle!

Also in attendance @ Catherine Palace was, obvs, Gergiev. But a treat was Rene Pape, who posed with Russian soprano Anastasia Kalagina, a soloist at the theatre since 2007, who won this year's "Montblanc New Voices Award".

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Gergiev on his tiny phone...it's smaller than his ear! Can u hear me??

Liveblogging Domingo, Netrebko & Villazon @ Schloss Schönbrunn

**OC is watching live on ZDF the concert as broadcast via satellite. Scroll down for the half-time teaser pictures.

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Liveblogging the outdoor concert gala that is going on right now in Vienna's Schloss Schönbrunn with Vienna's Radio Symphony Orchestra and appearances by Rolando Villazón, Plácido Domingo, and Anna Netrebko. Program here!

Plácido Domingo sang first Jules Massenet's Le Cid - "O souverain, ô juge, ô père". Then Rolando Villazón sang Amilcare Ponchielli's Il figliuol prodigo - "Il padre!...Tenda natal". He's crazy sweaty.

omg omg it's Trebs. She's in a headband with gold and red accents, bright red lipstick, crazy preg. Wearing a floaty gigantic silk chiffon dress, bright red. She's singing Emmerich Kálmán's Die Csárdásfürstin - "Heia in den Bergen". Voice is deep and rich. She's dancing all over the stage and twirling in like a whole whirling dance. The dress hides her whole belly. She's not breaking a sweat. Her voice is so dark and creamy. She's done. Huge long black extensions for hair.

Back to Viallzon. His hair is big and fluffy. He's wearing a black shirt, black pants, and a black jacket with a Neru collar, and a gold braid on the collar. He's singing Francesco Paolo Tosti's "Ideale". Good control.

The concert is outdoors in the grand courtyard of Schloss Schönbrunn. It's closed to the public, with chairs set up for all the VIPS that snagged tickets to this hyped event. This is Netrebko's last performance before she takes a temporary hiatus for TEH BEBBE. The weather is clear and gorgeous, and the sun is just setting.

The Dominger is back. He's in a black tuxedo suit jacket with black satin accents. He just sang Richard Wagner's Die Walküre - "Winterstürme wichen dem Wonnemond". Fine. 

La Trebs is back. She's in gigantic stiletto heels with that red dress. She's playing with her super-long extensions. She's singing Luigi Arditi's "Il bacio". Hanging dangling gold earrings. The cut of her dress makes her hips look srsly wide. The dress is an empire-waist with a srsly low cut decollete top. She's having a lot of fun. Someone just threw her a huge bouquet of long-stem red&white roses from the audience, and she caught it!

Plácido Domingo & Rolando Villazón are together on stage singing Giuseppe Verdi's Don Carlo - "E lui! Desso!...Dio, che nell'alma infondere". It's a little, um, chaotic. It must be said that Rolando is wearing a crap load of foundation on his face. Maybe that's why he was sweating. They're all miked-up, obvs, but they sound good. THey're really getting into it, and Rolando's feelin' it. The Domigus is reading from music off a stand. They hugged at the end of the duet.

Now it's a pause. I can't wait for John Denver in the second half!! c u l8r! Ok make sure you scroll down for the first batch of teaser pictures...

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Back from the first break, and Domnigio hasn't changed his outfit. Boo. We were hoping for something sparkly. He's singing Franz Lehár's "Gern hab ich die Frau'n geküsst". He's holding his belly. The sun has completely set, so there are some electric blue light effects all over the structure he's singing under. Bertrand De Billy is conducting.

"VIVA WIEN!" Shouted Villazon to the audience when he came back out for the second break. He's acknowledging a few stray cat calls in the audience. Cute. He's clearly pleased. He's changed his jacket into a bright white one with a satin white-on-white floral pattern. He's singing Franz Lehár's Das Land des Lächelns - "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz". Someone threw him a boquet of orange flowers, which he barely caught, and some random old lady tried to slip him an envelope, but he couldn't get it.

LA ANNA! She's changed her dress into a black, full-length, tiered, ruffled number. It's black glittery layers, strapless. She's singing Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov "The Rose and the Nightingale". Still the same Xtina Aguilera red lipstick. She's wearing a large, intricate necklace of blingy cristals or something. It's all diamonds with some really cheesy pink balls. She's taken the headband out of her hair, but it's still that half up-half down style. 

Now it's a duet between Anna and Domingus. Franz Lehár's Die lustige Witwe - "Lippen schweigen". It's um, sweet. No podium for Domingo this time. That necklace just isn't working. It's all stiff and tight around her neck. She's rubbing on Domingo's arm. She got a nice ring from Schrott. omg they're waltzing together and the audience is applauding. Huge applause at the end for that gratuitous waltz.

Now it's time for Radio Symphonieorchester Wien's solo of Johann Strauß jr.'s Unter Donner und Blitz op. 324 - Polka schnell. omg so corny. where's the dancing bear?

Next is Domingo & Villazón singing John Denver's "Perhaps Love". Somewhere in Muppet heaven Kermit the frog is wetting himself. Karaoke. "Some say dey don't know" heh. Who's idea was that? ok, that was actually really sweet.

Netrebko is back out singing Léo Delibes's "Les filles de Cadix". Those extensions are too long, getting caught under her armpits. But she's singing lovely. This one she's having lots of fun. I swear she has some red lipstick on her teeth, but I could be wrong. Let's wait for the final shots. Okay, now a duet between Anna and Rolando? omg everyone's twitching.It's ¡Sí, torero quiero ser!. ok, show stopper trio, Rudolf Sieczynski's "Wien, du Stadt meiner Träume" Anna Netrebko, Plácido Domingo & Rolando Villazón on stage all together. Anna is reading off a stand, and she needs it...because she almost came in full force a dozen measures before she was supposed to. She's lost on this one. OM G THEY'RE FORGETTING THE WORDS!! The camera pulled away for a long shot, and then when it came back, Rolando had pulled the music off the stand. This is a trainwreck. They didn't practice this one. This is a mess.

Big applause. Long stemmed roses for Anna. The Dominger is taking a bis: Federico Torroba's "Amor, Vida De Mi Vida". We <3 u Domingus! I'd still throw my Eres at his feet!

Now it's Rolando's turn! His bis is a zarzuela, Alberto Arrabal La del soto del parral "Ya mis horas felices". He screamed VIVA at the crowd again. omg. Huge applause at the end.

Now it's Anna's turn: Strauss's Cacilie. It sounds weird. Ew. Let's pray she doesn't forget the words. Nope. Short and sweet.

Now all three are on stage, and they've been handed beautiful bouquets each. Villazon is fondling his flowers. They walk off the stage. Is it over? Nope, they're back out.

Another encore for the three! Libiamo from La Traviata. Predictable crowd pleasure, and the audience is peeing themselves. That sounded horrible. It was a parody of Verdi. That was embarrassing. It was like Medieval Times or something. The crowd sang along at one point. It's pretty much over. 

ITS OVER!!! We've got a Youtube upload coming of that John Denver song, and loads more screen shots.

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From La Clemenza To La Demenza: Anna Netrebko & Andrea Bocelli-Classical Brit Awards-2008

Goodbye Paris: La Netrebka Cancels Stuff, Part XXXVIII

Are you one of the optimists who bought tickets for I Capuleti e i Montecchi, in Paris, in the hope of seeing Anna Netrebko there?

Well, now that it's basically all sold out, turns out that Anna Netrebko won't probably be there that much: she seems about to cancel at least six 3 nights of her commitment there (from May 31 on). Goodness knows if she'll show up at least for the May 24 prima and the May 28 seconda rappresentazione.

update:

dear Mei (aka gtl torn t) alerts us that Opera de Paris says Netrebko only canceled three engagements, May 31, June 11 & 15.

end update

No official reason for the cancellation, but maybe she caught a cold the other night in London, due to the unusual choice of attire.

As our readers know we love la Ciofolina, so Paris audiences (tickets there are not as shamefully expensive as la Scala's, but pretty steep nonetheless) will be getting more than their monies worth anyway. But still.

Bait and switch, baby. Bait and switch.

No One Told Her That Baby Dolls, Despite The Name, Aren't Technically Considered Maternity Wear

A beaming, half-n4ked Anna Netrebko last week at the Classical brit Awards.

It's A Boy.

It's a boy.

(And they got married, too. They got their wedding bands in Dubai -- and one hopes her corporate sponsor, a famous jeweler, gave them at least a discount).

Gergiev's Easter Egg

Opera Chic pleads guilty of having a soft spot for that big sweaty combover'd Russian mess that is Valery Gergiev, because even if he, may the Lord bless his vodka-soaked heart, can make the Pastorale sound like John Williams and Richard Strauss sound like Def Leppard, he nevertheless can make magic things happen whenever he is on. And the Lord knows magic things don't happen very often in your average concert hall / opera house.

We therefore hope that he's going to be on quite often at the big  classical music marathon that is the seventh annual Moscow Easter Festival (the Russian Orthodox Easter obv.) Valery is running.

Among the highlights, a gala concert celebrating Gergiev's 55th birthday with ex-girlfriend Anna Netrebko, Olga Borodina and Vladimir Galuzin; performances of Mahler's 7th, 8th and 9th symphonies, two evenings of ballet with the Mariinsky ballet company and Ulyana Lopatkina.

Gergiev and the Mariinsky's orchestra will also bring music to the provinces and visit Kazan, Tver, Cherepovets, Ulyanovsk, Krasnodar and Vladikavkaz.