Biography of Anna Netrebko
Anna Yurievna Netrebko is one of the most gifted opera singers in the modern history of Russia. Her lyric-dramatic soprano delights millions of listeners, and her excellent stage performances force us to reconsider our ideas about truly high-quality music.
Opera singer Anna Netrebko
The artist’s personal collection includes a huge variety of awards, including the State Prize of the Russian Federation and the title of People’s Artist, awarded to her in 2008. Her performances were applauded by the best halls in the world. Among her fans are prominent businessmen, politicians and cultural figures. What is the secret of Anna Netrebko's success and what was her path to the best opera houses in the world?
Interesting facts from the singer’s life
- In 2003, Anna Netrebko's debut music album, recorded in the studio, went on sale.
- In 2004, Anna appeared before the audience in a new role for herself: she took part in the filming of the American film “The Princess Diaries”.
- In 2006, she received a second citizenship – Austrian – in addition to Russian.
- In 2008 she was awarded the title of People's Artist of the Russian Federation. In addition, the singer is the owner of such prizes and awards as “Castadiva”, “Golden Spotlight”, “Musician of the Year”, etc. She has the title “Hero of Labor of Kuban”.
- In 2012, Anna Yuryevna Netrebko became a confidant of Vladimir Putin, a candidate for the presidency of Russia.
Childhood
The future legend of the opera stage was born and raised in Krasnodar. The house where Netrebko spent his childhood is located on Oktyabrskaya Street, in the very heart of the city. This is a pre-revolutionary brick building, surrounded by a flowering garden.
Anna Netrebko in childhood
On her paternal side, her family comes from Zaporozhye Cossacks, but the singer’s ancestry also has Gypsy roots. Anna's father, Yuri Nikolaevich Netrebko, worked as a geologist, and her mother, Larisa Ivanovna Netrebko (died in 2002), was a communications engineer. Anna also has an older sister, Natalya, who is three years older. Now she bears the surname Eskildsen and lives in Denmark; in her youth she worked as a model.
The Netrebko sisters in their youth and now
The parents expected their second child to be a boy. Perhaps that is why little Anya had a completely ungirlish character. However, she and her sister did not cause much trouble for their parents. In their spare time, they explored the surrounding area and staged home theater performances. They were raised mainly by their mother and grandmother, since their father worked a lot and often went on business trips.
Anna Netrebko with her parents
Anna Netrebko has always loved to sing. She inherited her love of music from her father, who sings and plays the piano very well. From the age of three she sang lullabies, as a child she organized mini-concerts for relatives, and during her school years she became a soloist of the Kuban Pioneer musical ensemble, with which she performed at the Krasnodar Palace of Pioneers. The children's choir was so large that if they went on tour, they had to get a large “charter” plane. And Anya was his soloist.
Young Anna Netrebko – soloist of a youth ensemble
True, the girl did not think about a singing career: she was a well-rounded child, she was involved in acrobatics (she earned the title of Master of Masters), basketball, athletics, horse riding and drawing, and at different times she dreamed of becoming a surgeon, an artist, or even a stuntman. At the age of 11, her passion for writing awoke. My father kept his student notebooks, covered with ballpoint pen, all his life. Anna's uncle was a photographer, and for some time she and her friend went to his photo studio and learned how to develop negatives.
Anna Netrebko in her school years
As a result, Anna was an average student, sometimes getting C grades in quarters, but she always excelled in history and literature. Some hobbies, for example, the hippodrome, had to be abandoned at the request of her parents, who were worried that the girl was “sprayed” into many hobbies.
In addition to other merits, Anna, a real beauty, conquered the jury of the Miss Kuban 1988 beauty contest and took second place. As a prize she was given a color television.
Anna Netrebko at Miss Kuban 1988
An ordinary girl Anya
Opera singer Anna Yuryevna Netrebko was born on September 18, 1971 in the Kuban capital - sunny Krasnodar. She is Russian by nationality, but she has Cossack and Gypsy blood.
The opera diva’s parents had nothing to do with art or the stage, but the family was quite musical. Dad, Yuri Nikolaevich, a Kuban Cossack, worked as a geologist, and mother, Larisa Ivanovna, was a communications engineer. There is another daughter in the family, Natalya Yuryevna, she is married and now lives in Denmark. Natalya and Anna are very attached to each other, the sister often attends concerts of the famous singer.
The future star was an excellent student; from early childhood the girl had pronounced singing abilities. While still a schoolgirl, Anna began studying in the Kuban Pioneer choir. Soon Netrebko was made a soloist of this choir.
As a child, Anya did not dream of becoming a singer. She had many hobbies: she was involved in drawing, athletics, horse riding, and also had the rank of candidate for master of sports in acrobatics. Like many children, I dreamed of becoming a doctor, an artist, and even a stuntman.
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In 1988, the Kuban beauty took part in the Miss Kuban show program and won an honorable second place. She was given a TV as a prize. The competition was more like a KVN game, recalls the world opera star, and its host was the famous A. Maslyakov.
First steps to glory
She was inspired to dream of an opera stage by a trip to Leningrad, or more precisely, to the Mariinsky Theater. At the family council, it was decided that the girl would study in the Northern capital, and not in Moscow, since in Leningrad Yuri Nikolaevich had many university friends who, if anything happened, could help Anya. After graduating from high school, Anna Netrebko went to Leningrad, where she successfully entered the music school, since in those years only those who graduated from the music school were accepted into the conservatory. But instead of the required five years, the talented student was transferred to the Conservatory. Rimsky-Korsakov after the second year.
In the photo: Anna Netrebko and her vocal teacher Tamara Novichenko
At the conservatory, Anna studied with academic vocal teacher Tamara Novichenko for 4 years. Later, Novichenko noted that Anna was helped to reach such heights, first of all, by her inhuman determination and perseverance, and only then by her innate talent.
During the first years of her studies, the girl hardly stood out among the other students, but in the third year she passed the exam in her specialty with excellent marks, and a year later, in 1993, she became a laureate of the Prize. Glinka and met teacher Irina Arkhipova, whose name has already become a household name for academic vocalists. The praise from Arkhipova meant more to Anna than anything else.
Anna Netrebko sings (1989) In her fifth year, Netrebko was preparing for her graduation performance in La Traviata. But at this time she received an offer from the Mariinsky Theater, where she worked part-time as a cleaner. The artistic director of the Mariinsky Theater Valery Gergiev, who was just looking for new faces, invited her to rehearse the part of Barbarina in The Marriage of Figaro. “She came to the Mariinsky Theater not as a singer, but it was clear that she was interested in the stage, that she had excellent vocal and artistic abilities,” Gergiev later recalled. However, she never had a chance to play Barbarin - after several rehearsals she was “promoted” to the role of Suzanne.
Anna Netrebko in The Marriage of Figaro
Anna Netrebko: I have never walked to the line
As part of the V Moscow Easter Festival, the only concert with the participation of Anna Netrebko was held in Krasnodar. The world opera star flew to Kuban, interrupting her foreign tour, and the artistic director of the Mariinsky Theater Valery Gergiev said that this time the capital of the Cossack region was included in the regional program of the festival at the request of Anya. She left Krasnodar at the age of 16, and although she has been here regularly since then, she came not as a singer, but simply to visit her family, so in a city where the general public rarely listens to opera, her name was known only to connoisseurs of musical art. But when posters appeared with a list of the countrywoman’s prestigious awards, local journalists rushed to leaf through newspaper files, search for information on the Internet, and on the eve of the “cultural landing” of St. Petersburg residents, the whole city was talking about Anna Netrebko. Even the head of the region, Alexander Tkachev, promised to scold his advisers who did not enlighten him at the time that the opera diva, who is applauded by London and New York, Madrid and Milan, was born and raised in Krasnodar. “She also has a Cossack surname,” he noted, “it turns out that our Anya there, abroad, represents not only Russia, but also Kuban. I think such valiant work should be recognized at its true worth.” With these words, the governor presented the singer with the medal of the Hero of Labor of Kuban.
The next day, Gergiev and his orchestra flew to Rostov-on-Don. Netrebko was waiting for Vienna, but before heading to the Austrian capital, she stayed in Krasnodar for another day. This time Anya spent almost three days in her home, during one of which we met.
For a house with high stucco ceilings, time seems to have stopped and only by the date stamped on top do you understand that it was built in 1905. Inside, everything is arranged as it was once customary among the Cossacks: on the walls there are many framed photographs, ancient and modern, in the center of the largest room there is a tiled stove with a fireplace, in the corner there is a piano - the same one to the accompaniment of which the future star learned to sing .
“This is my fortress,” says Anya. “Here I draw strength and gain new energy.” Therefore, no matter how difficult it is to escape, I try to come to Krasnodar two or three times a year. Now I can’t do it for a long time, but I find a couple of days. I’ll walk along my favorite Krasnaya Street, drink my dad’s wonderful wine with my friends, talk to my heart’s content - and we can continue to live in the same crazy rhythm: rehearsals, concerts, tours - everything is scheduled for five years in advance. This house is for me what Achilles’s native land is. It helps you stand firmly on your feet.
Pedigree
Yuri Nikolaevich Netrebko, Anya’s father, joins the conversation about family traditions.
Rossiyskaya Gazeta: From old photographs, I understand that your ancestors are from hereditary Cossacks?
Yuri Netrebko: When Catherine donated these lands to the Cossacks, two Netrebko brothers were among the settlers from the Zaporozhye Sich. One of them settled in the area of the Griven estuaries, in the lower reaches of the Kuban River, and the second - on the road to Yeisk in the area of the Staromyshastovsky kuren. My grandfather on my father’s side was the clerk of this kuren, we even have a photograph of him. And his sons, including my father, have already received higher education. My father was a famous hydrologist, participated in the design of the Shapsug and Krasnodar reservoirs. I followed in his footsteps, graduated from the Leningrad Mining Institute and am still involved in hydrology. Once upon a time, dad, mom, younger brother, me, my wife and two children lived in this house. Big family. And after my wife died, I was left here alone. The eldest daughter now lives in Denmark with her husband and granddaughter, Anya travels all over the world. Well, they both come here, especially the younger one loves this house. As for the traditions of the Cossacks, they have always been strong in our family. I think the Cossack character was passed on to my daughters.
RG: What did you get from your mother?
Anna Netrebko: On my mother’s side, they say there is even gypsy blood. But unlike her dad, her family’s history is shrouded in mystery. Allegedly, documents, including metrics, had to be destroyed after the revolution. The great-grandmother was from the nobility, so storing all this then was simply dangerous. And I also heard that this great-grandmother sang well. I probably went into it.
RG: When did you start singing?
Anna Netrebko: Yes, I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember. Although as a child I was not interested in anything. And drawing, and acrobatics, and horses. I wanted to be a dramatic actress, a film actress, like all the girls. But then I realized that my calling was classical art, opera. And I’m very glad that I wasn’t mistaken.
Duet with somersault
RG: Anya, I heard that you got it from school teachers more than once as a child?
Anna Netrebko: It happened. I just never knew how to walk the line and obey instructions with which I did not agree. For this reason, relations with the school principal and class teacher did not work out. I don’t like it when they try to “break” children, they all brush them with the same brush. I always resisted, so I maintained my individuality. But there were teachers whom I still bow to. I will never forget my first teacher, Svetlana Ivanovna Royan - an amazing person. I often remember another Svetlana Ivanovna, a teacher of Russian language and literature. They both gave me a lot.
RG: And the Palace of Pioneers?
Anna Netrebko: He gave me friends who are still with me. They love me because I am me, and not because I became a star, as they call me now. And I love them very much and know everything about them. We can talk on the phone for hours! In the West there are psychotherapists, but here we have girlfriends. You'll talk and feel like you're at home. Yesterday they were at the concert, did you notice how I waved to them from the stage? When I looked into the auditorium, I saw so many familiar faces! We then sat with the girls until one in the morning. Gergiev went to visit the governor, I was also invited, but she apologized and did not go. I wanted to chat with my friends longer. So today I’m waiting for my guys to visit. We will gather again in our home, as we always did as children.
RG: The record library of the regional radio contains recordings of the ensemble “Kuban Pioneer” with your participation. You were a soloist of this group for seven years, but somehow you interrupted your studies for almost a whole year. Why?
Anna Netrebko: At that time I was simply torn between the hippodrome, drawing classes, acrobatics and singing. I wanted to do everything in time, but it didn’t always work out. I received scoldings from the teachers from the Palace of Pioneers; many considered me almost a lazy person, so I had to leave classes in the ensemble for some time. But then I returned, mainly because of my friends, with whom in the summer of 1986 we relaxed and sang at Artek.
RG: Did you have to give up all your other hobbies?
Anna Netrebko: I still haven’t given up on some of them. After all, I still do somersaults. Do you know what I did at the Metropolitan Opera at the premiere of Don Pasquale? We were rushing around the stage there, doing something unthinkable during the top notes. And at the very end of the duet, I did a somersault over my head, which simply caused wild applause. That is, school acrobatics came in handy. As for the conflicting reviews addressed to me, I’m already used to it. Some said that he had both a voice and talent, while others completely denied it. By the way, I myself believed in my own strength only a couple of years ago, when I saw the audience giving a standing ovation for several minutes.
Yuri Netrebko: I think this is a fair reward. Talent is talent, but without daily hard work nothing will happen. I already saw how selflessly she studied. Both in Krasnodar and St. Petersburg. For two years at the Mariinsky Theater she worked as a cleaner. Not for the sake of money, but to be able to watch all the performances, listen and learn. Of course, I scold her for never graduating from the conservatory and not receiving a diploma. She doesn’t have time, touring gets in the way. This is not an excuse.
Anna Netrebko: Well, dad, don't grumble. When contracts are concluded with me, no one asks for diplomas or work records. My calling card is my voice. I recently read about the crazy fees that I allegedly receive. This is bullshit. They pay me, of course, not bad, but not at all the amounts that are indicated there. Only recently I got my own apartment in St. Petersburg. There is my father's room, a room for my friends who constantly come to visit me. I bought an apartment in New York for convenience and savings. I've been performing there most often lately, and the hotel is expensive. In the West, I sing so often not because of money. I just think that when you are invited to sing in such theaters, you cannot refuse. Life, of course, has turned into a cage: I sing all the time, constantly on the road. But I like it. As for performances in Russia, I intend to increase their number. I am a Russian singer after all. And she must first of all sing for her compatriots.
Southern style
RG: When you arrived in St. Petersburg, did you feel like a provincial?
Anna Netrebko: At first, many made fun of my Krasnodar taste, southern dialect, manners. But I’m the kind of person: if it goes in one ear, it’ll go out the other. None of this really bothered me, I continued to do my job.
RG: What is Krasnodar taste?
Anna Netrebko: Not strict, southern. There is a special temperament here, I think you can see it in me. I'm definitely a lucky person (knocks on the table), but I constantly need to prove something. It has always been this way.
RG: But do you need any “props” to achieve fame?
Anna Netrebko: No amount of support will help if you don’t know how to sing. Sometimes I hear: “She is the mistress of the conductor or director, so she became a prima donna.” This could probably work in a provincial theater, where there are three singers and no choice. And on serious stages, not a single manager will bet on you, despite any patronage, if he is not sure that you will pack the halls. Of course, my character is not a gift. I often argue with directors, but only for the good of the cause. Because I want my individuality to be taken into account. It seems to me that this worked out in War and Peace, although I had to defend my vision of the image of Natasha Rostova to Andron Konchalovsky. This heroine has always been close to me. Maybe because Natasha is very Russian? And not perfect, just like me. Doubting, restless, making mistakes. But very cheerful and life-loving. When I was Rostova’s age, I behaved exactly the same way. This is probably why this game was so easy for me.
RG: Where is your Natasha perceived better - at home or abroad?
Anna Netrebko: In Russia I received the State Prize, and abroad it was a resounding success. After all, “War and Peace” is part of Russian culture, which has a special magnetism. By the way, the news of being awarded the State Prize found me in London. The day after the premiere, they called Covent Garden and said that they urgently needed to fly to Moscow. And they didn’t even say why. Until I ended up in the Kremlin, I didn’t understand how serious everything was. When the president presented the award, I was terribly embarrassed. He congratulated, said good words, and I muttered something in response, barely connecting the words.
RG: Recently information appeared in the press that you are applying for Austrian citizenship. This is true?
Anna Netrebko: Yes, but this will be my second citizenship. I remain a Russian citizen, but since I work a lot abroad, a foreign passport will make traveling and obtaining visas easier. In all other respects, I was, am, and will be Russian. Many outstanding Russians work all over the world, thereby glorifying our country.
Here Irina Mishura from Krasnodar now lives in America, sings at the Metropolitan Opera. People from Kuban perform with great success on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater. Galina Sidorenko, Zlata Bulycheva, Leonid Zakhorzhaev, Viktor Chernomortsev. So, we can say that we already have our own community there. It turns out that the “Krasnodar style” is in demand today.
First success
The debut work was not just successful: Anna’s performance of Suzanne became, in the opinion of opera lovers, the main event of the year. In a short time, Anna became such a popular creative talent that she could not attend classes at the conservatory. Due to the busyness of the professional scene, Anna did not have enough time to pass the exams and receive a diploma. But his absence worried only his mother; Netrebko herself had no time left to reflect on this matter: her schedule was now scheduled not by the day, but by the minute. 1994: Anna Netrebko's debut at the Mariinsky Theater After The Marriage of Figaro, she was assigned to learn Lyudmila's cavantina from the opera Ruslan and Lyudmila, with which the girl performed in front of residents of San Francisco in 1995, after which she was invited to a three-month internship at the local opera house theater. A little earlier, she made her debut on the Riga stage as part of the opera “Queen of the Night”. In the USA, she studied a program developed specifically for opera singers: from morning to evening she choreographed French, Italian and German, and learned the intricacies of stage movement.
Anna Netrebko as Lyudmila
America became the singer’s home for several years, although it took her a long time to get used to a foreign language, cuisine and culture in general. In San Francisco, she made her debut in “Elixir of Love” (Adina). Placido Domingo, artistic director of the Washington Opera, invited Netrebko to play the role of Gilda in Rigoletto.
Anna Netrebko in her youth
For several years, Anna, being involved in the operas “Boris Godunov”, “The Tsar’s Bride”, “Betrothal in a Monastery”, “The Barber of Seville”, “Somnambula”, “Rigoletto”, “Lucia di Lammermoor”, “La Boheme”, “ Don Juan" and many, many others, became one of the leading soloists of the theater. Together with the Mariinsky Theater troupe, she visited Finland, Germany, Israel, Latvia, and the USA.
Anna Netrebko in the opera “The Barber of Seville”
Despite the great risk of earning star fever, Anna did not give in to temptation, but continued to painstakingly work on her vocals. As Valery Gergiev recalled, when Netrebko became a world star, one day, after a concert in New York, he went to see her backstage. She saw the old mentor and burst into tears: “I faked it at the very beginning!” Gergiev admitted that he didn’t even notice the falseness: “Since she now has such a standard, this is really quality.”
One of the most significant events in the singer’s career was the play “War and Peace,” staged on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera with the participation of Dmitry Hvorostovsky in 2002, as well as the production of “Don Juan,” presented by conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt at the festival in Salzburg, Austria (also 2002).
Anna Netrebko and Dmitry Hvorostovsky in the opera "War and Peace"
Anna Netrebko's first batch - fourth kid
The refusal of the world's best soprano Anna Netrebko to perform at the Salzburg Festival in Austria shocked the world of classical music until the singer announced the reason - she was expecting a child. And she marries his father, Uruguayan baritone Erwin Schrott, to whom she became engaged last year in New York.
— We are both very happy that soon there will be three of us! - said the 36-year-old singer.
The baby is due to be born in the fall, but for now Anna continues to perform. Her name on the posters is the best bait for opera connoisseurs. After all, by the age of 36, she had become the owner of a huge number of prestigious prizes and awards. And it all began in Krasnodar, where her father Yuri Nikolaevich still lives.
“It’s a pity that Anya’s mother didn’t live to see this,” Yuri Nikolaevich sighs. — Larisa Ivanovna was seriously ill and died when Anechka was studying at the conservatory. Our mother sang well, and Ani’s great-grandmother was a soloist of the Novosibirsk Opera before the revolution... - Yuri Nikolaevich takes out an album with photographs. On cardboard pages there are photographs of a girl. — Anya started singing in kindergarten. And at school they noticed her and took her to the ensemble at the Krasnodar Palace of Pioneers. Our girl studied there until the tenth grade. And I even visited abroad for the first time - to the GDR.
In addition to her unique vocal abilities, nature has blessed Anna with a striking appearance. The fact that she is a real beauty was confirmed by the jury of one of the first beauty contests in Kuban, where her older sister Natalya brought her. Now she lives in Denmark, and in 1988 she worked as a fashion model in the Krasnodar Fashion House.
“Anya was not at all upset that she didn’t win, but only became “Vice Miss Kuban,” Yuri Nikolaevich smiles. “That competition was kind of fun for my daughter. After all, she was already a student at the Leningrad Conservatory.
Here is her first performance in the opera studio at the conservatory - yes! My wife and I went to Leningrad to support her. Don’t laugh, Anya got the role of the fourth kid in the play “The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids.” You should have seen what she did on stage. The audience forgot about the main characters.
FIVE UNKNOWN FACTS FROM THE LIFE OF A DIVA
1. The Western press has already circulated rumors about Anna’s pregnancy. Conductor Valery Gergiev, tenor Rolando Villazon and even singer Robbie Williams were nominated as fathers. In fact, Netrebko simply gained weight then, since she never goes on diets.
2. According to legend, Anna was washing floors at the Mariinsky Theater when Valery Gergiev noticed her and offered her the main role in the opera “The Marriage of Figaro.” She actually worked part-time as a cleaner, but at the same time studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. And I washed the floors so that I could attend the troupe’s rehearsals. In 1994, after winning the prestigious Glinka competition, she decided to try herself with Gergiev in “The Marriage of Figaro”. The maestro asked her to sing the part of the main character. Which was executed flawlessly.
3. She recently opened the restaurant “Yes!” in New York. along with his sister. And, by the way, I bought an apartment there. Third to two in St. Petersburg.
4. Anna previously admitted that she doesn’t want children or marriage - she’s already interested in life. A couple of years ago, her boyfriend, opera singer Simone Alberghini, was refused his marriage proposal.
5. For her lack of snobbery and free manner of communication, Anna was nicknamed in America “the star in jeans.” After another “annealing” in a fashionable New York club, local workers found the singer’s bra and hung it on the “honor board”. What the diva herself told the whole world with a laugh. And during one of her last visits to St. Petersburg, she won a mini-cancan tournament at a local club.
You can get to know the singer better on her website https://www.annanetrebko.com
EVENING CALL
Yuri NETREBKO, father of the opera diva: “I was the last to know about my daughter’s pregnancy”
“I was the last to know that Anya was expecting a child,” Yuri Nikolaevich admitted to KP yesterday. “First, friends called who heard the news on television, then Anya herself. She said that she had suspected it for a long time, but did not want to say until she received a doctor’s report. According to estimates, she will become a mother in September.
Despite the fact that the singer has canceled many concerts, she is not yet going to Krasnodar to visit her father.
“My daughter will be in Russia only at the end of February,” says Yuri Nikolaevich, “on the 29th she sings “La Bohème” at the Mariinsky Theater, and is now filming the film “Opera” in Vienna. And soon it will become known whether Anya will receive a musical Oscar - a Grammy (Netrebko is nominated in the category “Best Classical Vocal.” - Ed.).
Sabina MALYAN (“KP” - Krasnodar).
Anna Netrebko. "Mermaid". Read: Anna Netrebko's first batch - the fourth kid
Career blossoming
After Don Giovanni, the opera diva’s life changed dramatically. In 2003, she shone on the stage of the Munich Opera in Verdi's La Traviata (the role of Violetta) and on the stage of London's Covent Garden in the role of Donna Anna. At the same time, the first studio album with parts performed by Anna (“Opera Arias”) was released. Anna sang accompanied by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. She changes management, and from now on hundreds, or even thousands of people line up for tickets to her concerts.
Singer in 2003
The following year, the opera diva appeared with a cameo in the Hollywood film “The Princess Diaries” with Anne Hathaway, presented the audience with her new album “Sempre Libera” (“Be free, be carefree” - this expression could well become the singer’s credo) and sang a duet with the Mexican star opera by Rolando Villazón in Romeo and Juliet. In partnership with him, she released the CD “Duets”. Anna Netrebko in The Princess Diaries In 2005, Anna received the State Prize from the hands of Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin Palace. Netrebko did not advertise this fact, but her father once told reporters that the singer transferred all the money from the State Prize (which is about 5 million rubles) to the Turner Children's Orthopedic Institute.
Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon
In 2006, Anna Netrebko began to seek Austrian citizenship. The singer planned to move to Salzburg. The Austrian government gladly granted her request. Netrebko also retained Russian citizenship. The jury of the Classic Brit Awards names her Vocalist of the Year.
Anna Netrebko's height is 171 cm
In 2007, Time published its annual ranking of the world's 100 most influential people. That year, an opera singer, Anna Netrebko, entered it for the first time. “Stunning appearance and enchanting charm, amazing beauty and power of voice,” summarized the compilers of the rating. Anna Netrebko – Sempre libera Since 2008, Anna Netrebko has held the title of People's Artist of the Russian Federation. In addition, the singer’s personal collection of awards includes such awards as the Golden Spotlight, German Media Award, Golden Gramophone (for the song “Voice”), the Casta Diva Award, as well as the Classical BRIT Awards and many others.
In 2009, Anna sang a duet with Elina Garanča, a mezzo-soprano from Riga, Offenbach's barcarolle from The Tales of Hoffmann. Then the “female operatic dream duo,” as they were called in the press, performed in Bellini’s “Capulets and Montagues.”
Netrebko and Garanca
A year later, at the New Wave competition, Anna surprises with an unexpected duet with Philip Kirkorov. They recorded the song “Voice” on the initiative of the Russian “King of Pop”. The composition was a great success in Russia, received the Golden Gramophone, and Anna was an interesting and fun experience. But, as the opera diva admitted, this experience is unlikely to be continued. Perhaps this is due to the behavior of Kirkorov, who beat a journalist during the award ceremony, and Netrebko had to answer awkward questions from journalists. Philip Kirkorov and Anna Netrebko - Voice In 2013, the singer began working on a new repertoire, which soon included Desdemona from Othello and Joan of Arc from Verdi's opera of the same name. In June, on the new stage of the Mariinsky Theater, she performed the soprano part in Latin from Benjamin Britten’s anti-militarist War Requiem. The complex intellectual project did not promise commercial benefits, but the name of Anna Netrebko on the posters corrected the situation.
"War Requiem" in Salzburg
Who, if not Anna Netrebko, the most recognizable voice of Russia abroad and one of the best sopranos on the planet, could open the Olympics in Sochi with the Olympic anthem! In a fluffy sky-blue dress, she resembled the Snow Queen.
Anna Netrebko at the opening of the Olympics in Sochi
People all over the world were captivated by her energy, due to her gypsy blood, and her inner freedom, clearly inherited from her Cossack ancestors. She was far from all the behind-the-scenes intrigues, she could behave inappropriately on stage - kiss the musicians, take off her shoes and dance around the stage barefoot, as happened at the Three Stars concert in Berlin in 2014. Anna Netrebko – Giuditta's Aria
Personal life of Anna Netrebko
In her youth, Anna was not interested in boys. Her first serious relationship came at the age of 22. Anna hides the name of her youthful love; it is only known that they studied at the conservatory together and that Anna’s chosen one was married. The singer, who fell madly in love, was forced to immerse herself in work in order to forget about the “forbidden fruit.”
Anna Netrebko at the beginning of her career
While interning in San Francisco, Anna became interested in a baritone named Ted. But the relationship turned out to be short-lived: at first the man was very sensitive to his beloved’s successes, and then, when Netrebko returned to her homeland, he completely found a new passion. Anna had a hard time with the breakup. An affair with the grandson of the ballerina Inna Zubkovskaya, Nikolai, helped her cope with depression. He was 4 years younger than Anna. Their relationship lasted a couple of years, after which both decided to separate.
In the photo: Anna Netrebko and Nikolai Zubkovsky
Later, one of the Mariinsky Theater employees told the press that Zubkovsky beat Anna out of jealousy: “Once he beat her so hard that her whole face and body were covered in bruises! After that she ran away from him!”
Then for about six years Anna dated Italian bass Simone Alberghini. For the sake of a passionate Russian woman, Simone left his former lover. However, Anna decided not to rush things. Feeling freer than ever, she did not want a serious, committing relationship, so the couple made do with rare dates a couple of times a month.
Anna Netrebko and Simone Alberghini dated for 6 years
Around 2003, the Uruguayan baritone Schrott Erwin burst into her life like a hurricane. At that moment, she continued her affair with Alberghini, but in 2007, when their relationship finally faded away, the singer remembered Erwin. And now the newly-made couple began to live in a civil marriage.
Anna Netrebko and Schrott Erwin
In 2008, their common son Thiego was born. Unfortunately, the baby was diagnosed with autism. Anna Netrebko did not give up on her “special” son, but courageously endured all the hardships associated with raising a difficult child.
Thiego, Anna Netrebko's son, suffers from autism
When the boy was 5 years old, Anna and Schrott separated. This is what Netrebko recalled about the reason for the divorce: Yusif Eyvazov, a tenor from Azerbaijan, became Anna’s new Prince. Their relationship was not hampered by either the age difference (the man is 6 years younger than Anna) or the presence of Anna’s “special” baby. Yusif fell in love with Thiago as if he were his own son. On December 29, 2020, Anna and Yusif got married in Vienna.
Anna Netrebko with her husband and son
Thanks to the efforts of his parents, the boy learned to feel comfortable in society and even went to a regular school, where more than twenty children studied with him in the class. He travels a lot with his mother and grows up as a smart, inquisitive child. Thiago has a good voice, but his parents do not intend to make him an artist. The boy himself wants to draw cartoons and computer games.
Anna and Thiago
Personal life
More recently, nothing was known about Anna Netrebko’s personal life. The young and charming singer tried not to tell anyone anything about herself. It is known that at one time the young star had a stormy romance with dancer Nikolai Zubkovsky, but their breakup was no less stormy and scandalous. As rumors claimed, Anna Yuryevna had to endure beatings from this man.
The opera singer's first marriage was with Erwin Schrott, a singer from Uruguay.
They dated for a long time and only decided to get married in 2007, but this marriage broke up six years later. But a new happy streak in Anna Yuryevna’s biography begins in 2008, when she gives birth to her son Thiago in one of the clinics in Austria. Today this is the most beloved and adored man in Anna Netrebko’s life. There are rumors from various media sources that at the end of 2020 in Vienna, Anna Netrebko married the Azerbaijani tenor Yusif Eyvazov.
Anna Netrebko now
Although Anna Netrebko spends most of her time in Austria with her family, she continues to regularly come to Russia.
By the way, in her husband Anna found not only true love and reliable support in everyday life, but also a creative partner. Their duet opened the 17/18 theater season at the La Scala opera, and on February 7, 2020 in the concert hall. Tchaikovsky hosted their big concert. “Evening Urgant”: Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov At the beginning of 2020, the singer signed a contract with the Bolshoi Theater. The name of the project is kept secret. Netrebko returned to her native Mariinsky Theater several times a year for the opera Aida. In December 2020, Netrebko and Georgian opera singer Otar Georgikia appeared on the stage of La Scala theater together to perform Puccini's Tosca.
Anna Netrebko in 2019 (“Tosca”)
In 2020, Anna makes her debut as Turandot in the opera of the same name, which was heard by visitors to the Bavarian Opera.
