Customer Reviews

In the Still of Night (Songs by Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky)

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After putting out the standard Puccini/Verdi arias albums, Netrebko has released two stunning albums of Russian songs. Yes, she has a language advantage over the majority of singers of this repertoire, but the nuances and beauty of her voice shine through, as no other soprano. It is also a treat to hear these songs, adequately accompanied by Barenboim, because they are not recorded that often. Since childhood I have been a sucker for 'Songs My Mother Taught Me' (Dvorak), and it brought tears to my eyes to hear her sing it. She is an exceptional artist in all respects.

For those who have treasured the operatic performances of the very beautiful and talented Anna Netrebko it may come as a surprise that she can be equally convincing in the more demanding role of lieder singer. This recording is taken from a live performance with Netrebko and Daniel Barenboim at the 2009 Salzburg Festival and while that may alter the acoustical soundness of this outing it also provides an immediacy with the audience. The program is Russian and what a pleasure to hear the songs of Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov sung by a Russian soprano who not only understands the composers' concepts but also is able to give the subtleties of the Russian language their due.

Netrebko is in excellent voice here, rising with arching lines, able to extend a long phrase with a seemingly endless supply of breath, and giving her usual quality pianissimo appreciation to phrases others might just sing straight. There is a sameness to the sound of the works and that is likely due to the order in which they are performed. The only time that both Netrebko and Barenboim disappoint is in the lack of Straussian sound so important to the last song 'Cäcilie'. But that is a minor flaw in an otherwise beautiful recital. Grady Harp, December 10

If you do not yet know Anna Netrebko, this disc is a great place to start. A live recital, with only a piano to accompany her, it is easy to focus on and enjoy her divine voice. It does not get better than this. The only complaint I have is the price of this single-disc release. Well, with the Euro in decline, maybe the price of this import will come down in the next few weeks. The main reason for posting this message is to highlight a new rising star for your attention. If you enjoy Anna Netrebko, you won't want to miss Ms. Ailyn Perez. The Violeta of this decade, based on what I heard recently at the Staatsoper's La Traviata.

If I close my eyes, this recording makes me feel like I'm in a walnut-paneled and candle-lit drawing room with darkly varnished portraits looking down, and Anna and Daniel are performing twelve feet away. They are magnificent, and I'm here with a small party of friends swirling 30-year-old brandies and wearing our dinner tuxes with our ladies in gowns.
Perhaps I can find some small quibbles; there is a bit too much echo in the room, and the applause gets a little loud at times. For gosh sakes there is even an odd thundering racket at the end of track 21 like the audience is actually STOMPING on the oak floors like riff-raff at the burlesque! Couldn't that have been edited out? Further, I do understand the reviewer who didn't think Barenboim was spot on, because the piano sometimes overpowers, but rarely, and if you listen closely he seems to be holding back most of the time. It's just that the low end of a 9-foot concert grand is hard to muzzle, and it doesn't always pair with the mellifluous voice of an angel like Netrebko in the way a string section does.
But that isn't why you will buy this recording. You will buy it for the palpable magic of feeling that one of the greatest voices on Earth is only twelve feet away, and you will wish she would sing forever.

This is Russian music of the late 19th-Century, full of emotional angst and turmoil. Track 8, from Rimsky-Korsakov's Four Songs, Op. 2 No. 2 "Plenivshis' rozoy, solovey" (Captivated by the Rose, Nightingale) is about the unrequited love of a Nightingale for a Rose. While the Rose listens to the beautiful song, it does not understand why the song is so solemn. Perhaps not understanding` Russian makes the song even more pointed: Netrebko's voice is so very divine and yet so very despondent. She sang this song on her album Souvenirs (2008), but the live performance here captures much more of the agony.

Read the full review at:

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This all-Russian 'staple' recital includes 2 non-Russian encores.
The main attraction remains the two Russian composers' works.
Anna Netrebko has matured into a full blown artist by this time, and she interprets the two composers' works with real emotional depth and artistic abandon.
For these art songs, we hear Netrebko giving a total committment to her compatriots' works. No longer a 'perfect' songstress as in most of her Italian bel canto portrayals, but a real flesh and blood interpretor.
However, while in most of these numbers Netrebko is able to 'throw herself off' into the music, not so could be said of her seasoned accompanist Daniel Barenboim, and at many tracks, Anna was left to build up the musical tension single-handedly. While it is without doubt that Anna's voice is nothing but beauty incarnate and is the best in these works heard outside of Russia since the great Galina Vishnevskaya, the lack of support from the keyboard is glaring in this performance, which otherwise would be a truly 5-star performance.
It also accounts for why, before La Trebka surfaced in the musical world, these works had been dominated by Mr. and Mrs. Rostropovich.