Souvenirs (Deluxe Edition) [LIMITED EDITION]

Anna Netrebko (Artist), Elina Garanca (Artist), Piotr Beczala (Artist), Andrew Swait (Artist), Emmerich Kalman (Composer), Richard Heuberger (Composer), Franz Lehar (Composer), Gustave Charpentier (Composer), Jacque Offenbach (Composer), Richard Strauss (Composer), Edward Grieg (Composer), Andre Messager (Composer), Antonin Dvorak (Composer), Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (Composer), Emmanuel Villaume (Conductor), Prague Philharmonia (Orchestra), Prague Philharmonic Choir (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Prague Philharmonic Choir
• Orchestra: Prague Philharmonia
• Conductor: Emmanuel Villaume
• Composer: Emmerich Kalman, Richard Heuberger, Franz Lehar, Gustave Charpentier, Jacque Offenbach, et al.
• Audio CD (November 11, 2008)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Limited Edition
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B001EKH08K
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #90,830 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The Independent (London), January 2008
"Netrebko is, in a word, sensational . . . Netrebko's strength is not just in the mobility of her voice and the razzle-dazzle of her upper register's big-money notes - no, it's the fullness and beauty of the middle voice that singles her out . . . properly overwhelming. For once, fullness of heart is truly matched in fullness of sound."

Product Description
On her fourth album for Deutsche Grammophon, opera superstar Anna Netrebko gives a very personal and intimate performance of cherished lighter works. From sparkling operetta classics to seductive salon songs, each selection comes with a special memory for Netrebko. Netrebko is joined by some friends, Elı¯na Garancˇa and Piotr Beczala-- her joy of collaboration is heard in these magnificent selections. Anna Netrebko is one of DG's best-selling artists and consistently performs in sold-out opera houses and concert halls around the world. She returns to the Metropolitan Opera in January 2009 in Lucia di Lammermoor. Available in a special, deluxe limited edition package! The beautiful cap box includes the CD; a DVD of behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and musical excerpts; beautiful booklet; three postcards and one poster of Netrebko. A must-have for Netrebko fans and the perfect holiday gift!

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A refreshing recital with mass appeal, November 11, 2008

By	Santa Fe listener - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

Behind the Vogue magazine cover photo and the fan-based DVD and promotionals, we have a vocal recital to deal with. The best thing about Anna Netrebko is that she isn't all image, lovely as hers is. She's bidding to join Angela Gheorghiu as a permanent opera star with a lasting legacy. One requirement in that ascendency is to release an album of crossover mass apeal while still remaining respectably opratic.

This refreshing CD sets out to accomplish that and generally succeeds. The listener is softened up with three operetta lollipops to start off. Like Gheorghiu, Netrebko was trained to have a Slavic voice. Both sopranos work hard to ovrcome the drawbacks of the Slavic sound, which is darker, more throaty and chesty than Western opera voices. I don't know if Netrebko has gotten all the way -- her Lehar and Kalman heroines sound as if they are from Eastern Europe more than Vienna or Paris. She has yet to find light-hearted charm.

"Depuis le jour" puts in a bid for comparison with famous accounts from the young Leontyne Price and Kiri Te Kanawa, who were knockouts in this aria. Netrebko isn't -- she lacks that thrilling, ethereal extension on top that makes the listener float away. But she's certainly lovely to listen to in her own right. The Barcarolle from "Tales of Hoffmann" suits her better; it's soulful and dreamy, a good combination for her temperament.

As the program unfolds, we hit all the right beats for a mass-appeal album but with sidelong glances to the more knowing. Richard Strauss's "Caecille" is one of his most sumptuous orchestrated songs, and here Netrebko is thrilling, beyond reproach even if her German is sketchy. And so it goes. "Solveig's Song" is close enough to Slavic in mood that it brings out her best side, as do the items by Dvorak and (naturally) Rimsky-Korsakov.

What does it all add up to? I think the public will continue to love their new diva, but eveen for us grumpy connoisseurs, who have been holding out a bit, there's a bright light. When Netreboko stops being all things to all people, what she actually is is a fine Slavic soprano with potential in French and German music. DG pushed Netrebko into Verdi and Puccini because that's where the limelight shines. In the end, however, they will do full justice by showing off her strongest suit, not her most glamorous (and profitable).

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Netrebko at her poetic best!, November 12, 2008

By	ravennamoon (Naples, Italy) - See all my reviews

This is probably my favorite cd by Anna Netrebko, (although her Duets
cd with Rolando is up there too)!
The "Barcarolle" from "Les Contes D'Hoffmann" that she sings with
Elina Garanca, is one of my favorites on the cd. Also , the Yiddish
lullaby, and the song by Dvorak! All the pieces are serene and beautiful.
You will want to keep this close by, to memorize by heart.
She just keeps getting better.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunningly Beautiful, November 25, 2008

By	Rivendell "Larimar" (Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews

This is a stunningly beautiful CD, like the singer herself. Her choice of music for this CD is superb, and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys gorgeous music sung with sensitivity and warmth. Her voice makes you feel the emotion of every song and her rendition of Songs My Mother Taught Me brought tears to my eyes, it is magnificent. Other standouts are Barcarolle, Pie Jesu, and Meine Lippen, sie Kussen so heiss. In fact there are no songs on this album that are a disappointment - buy it for yourself, or as a gift for someone this holiday - you won't be sorry. Anna Netrebko goes from strength to strength and one thing I love about her is her diction, you can understand every word (if you understand the language) and the sheer passion and emotion she brings to each piece is beyond compare - absolutely sublime.