Anna Netrebko is one of the few Deutsche Grammophon artists whose CDs are guaranteed a local release in this country.
The label's Rufus Wainwright opera, along with high-powered new recordings by harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani and pianist Daniil Trifonov, seem fated to remain in import catalogues.
However, such is this soprano's
star status, that even a box set of an obscure Tchaikovsky opera, Iolanta, with her in the title role, may well be nestling in your local CD shop, just a few shelves away from Dave Dobbyn.
Judging from the cover of Netrebko's latest release, Verismo, you might imagine she's been caught in a particularly flamboyant production of a baroque opera, with a feathers and headdress combo that would be the envy of the Priscilla set.
But can this diva assoluta manage to lay bare the sad souls of Puccini's Cio-Cio San and Liu? You can sense a challenge being undertaken in this project and, for some, this gorgeous Rolls-Royce of a voice might not quite do justice to the essential vulnerability of such heroines.
