ANNA IS APPLAUDED FOR HER TURANDOT IN LONDON

On Monday at the Royal Ballet & Opera in London, Anna Netrebko sang the titular role in Andrei Șerban’s 1984 production of Turandot. The audience applauded her interpretation ecstatically, the critics equally so. In The Guardian, Martin Kettle writes, “Immediately [after] Netrebko’s Turandot starts to sing, which does not happen until midway through the second act, one realises that everything preceding this moment, effective though it may have been in its way, has been run-of-the-mill by comparison. Netrebko’s vocal richness and the grandeur of her phrasing lift things to a different level. There are times in her performance when one is aware of being in the presence of operatic greatness.” In the Financial Times, Richard Fairman writes, “The title role in Puccini’s Turandot is a tremendous showpiece for a singer who can meet its challenges. And Netrebko does more than that…There has been none better in this production since it was mounted for the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984…” In The Times, Neil Fisher writes, “Netrebko is surely the bulletproof diva. While others had choppy nights in Puccini’s Turandot, she seemed to be having a ball…Netrebko was in resplendent voice.” Further performances on 18, 20 and 23 December (all of which are sold out).