Villazon's Don Carlo: So Bad That It Made Pregnant Netrebko Drink

(photo via オペラ三昧イン・ロンドン)

The utter bores up at the Mayo Clinic have this piece of advice for pregnant women:

"One drink isn't likely to hurt your baby, but no level of alcohol has been proved safe during pregnancy. The safest bet is to avoid alcohol entirely."

"Consider the risks. Mothers who drink alcohol have a higher risk of miscarriage and stillbirth. Excessive alcohol consumption may result in fetal alcohol syndrome, which can cause facial deformities, heart problems, low birth weight and mental retardation. Even moderate drinking can impact your baby's brain development."

"If you're concerned because you drank alcohol before you knew you were pregnant or you think you need help to stop drinking, talk with your health care provider."

Admittedly, the Mayo Clinic is not a Russian institution.

And anyway if you're a star soprano you don't need to listen to no doctors. That is, if the yellow liquid photographed in pregnant (second to third trimester) Anna Netrebko's hands at the Covent Garden the other night was indeed alcohol, which we don't know -- you decide. More Drinking Pregka photos (very dark, they require a bit of levels work in Photoshop as we did with the photo above) at the Japanese site linked above, found via Intermezzo.

Anyway, what was the reason for Anna's need for a stiff one?

The beautiful tendency to live beyond one's means that has historically plagued so many opera singers seems to be going on at full blast (as we all know, la Scala, for their Daniele Gatti-conducted Don Carlo that will open the new season on Dec. 7, has decided to replace Marcelo Alvarez with Giuseppe Filianoti, not exactly the first name that comes to mind when thinking of the Don) AND Covent Garden, for their Pappano-conducted Don Carlo, has chosen Rolando Villazon, less than six months after Rolando's comeback from his sabbatical due to "exhaustion".

The Times:

"Villazón certainly radiates the aura of unstable volatility that Carlo needs, but his grainy voice sounds more and more pressurised."

The Guardian:

"The casting of Rolando Villazón in the title role attracted much of the advance publicity, but the glitzy tenor is the only disappointment. Some of his singing is outstanding but there's never a hint of emotional engagement and with an acting style that begins and ends at his eyebrows, mixing in a few semaphore-like flailing arms for good measure, Villazón reduces the character of Carlo to little more than a stroppy, lovesick adolescent, hardly hinting that there is also a political dimension to his personal tragedy."

Bloomberg:

"There was more superb singing, with Verdian panache. Then the problems started. Villazon began to wobble on his top notes, and a little catch appeared in his voice. The anxiety in the audience was palpable."

Look, now we need a drink, too.