Monday, October 15, 2012

Awards 2007: Opera Recital

"Russian album"
Anna Netrebko; Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre/Valery Gergiev
DG

Anna Netrebko also appears as a runner-up in this category, duetting with Rolando Villazón, who further appears as a runner-up on his own. Opera Recital is traditionally the least-populated of all the categories, and this year was no exception. But there are no doubts about the quality. "This is the best disc Netrebko has made so far and should make many new friends for Russian opera", according to Patrick O'Connor in Gramophone. Meanwhile on MusicWeb, Göran Forsling says "Anna Netrebko is blessed with one of the most beautiful voices in the operatic world today and she has polished her technique to such an extent that she can carry through anything she wants to do. But this is only one prerequisite of becoming a good opera singer, albeit an important one. What makes her stand out is her ability to catch the various moods of her arias and create a believable character... there are musical riches aplenty and once heard these arias will be friends for life".

Runners-up:
"Arias for Rubini". Juan Diego Flórez; Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia/Roberto Abbado [Decca]
"Gitano". Rolando Villazón; Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid/Plácido Domingo [Virgin]
"Duets". Anna Netrebko; Rolando Villazón; Staatskapelle Dresden/Nicola Luisotti [DG]
"Great Operatic Arias". Jennifer Larmore; Philharmonia Orchestra/David Parry [Chandos]

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