Anna Netrebko Performed Olympic Anthem At Sochi Opening

Netrebko Does Russia Proud: Hitting all the high notes in a gown by Katya Kotova.

On the heels of American soprano Renée Fleming singing the National Anthem for the Super Bowl, Russian superstar Anna Netrebko sang the Olympic Anthem in Sochi for Vladimir Putin, 43,000 stadium spectators, and an estimated 3 billion television audience members. The Olympics have been in the news recently for the ballooning $50 billion price tag and it seems not all the construction is complete after seven years of preparation. No word on whether there will be more singing from the country's most beloved opera singer during her stay in Sochi before she travels back to Italy for the opening of Manon Lescaut with Riccardo Muti at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma on February 27. Photos from the performance here and a many more after the jump. As a side note, Google has created a doodle that seems like a statement about Russia's anti-gay law just in time for the Olympics:

(Translation: "The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play." –Olympic Charter)

Anti-Gay Laws In Russia Prompt Anna Netrebko Statement On FB

(Photo: Kristian Schuller/DG)

"As an artist, it is my great joy to collaborate with all of my wonderful colleagues—regardless of their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. I have never and will never discriminate against anyone." -Anna Netrebko

[Source]

The Russians (Netrebko And Hvorostovsky) Are Coming To Red Square

Click the above photo to watch a video from the press conference in Russia for this evening's concert in Moscow's Red Square featuring Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Anna Netrebko with conductor Constantine Orbelian. Global listings for live streaming of the concert can be found after the jump.

(Photo: Victor Vasenin/WP)

Anna Netrebko Has Major Presidential Contact

With President Vladimir Putin on May 2, 2013, at the opening of the new Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia.

With former President Bill Clinton at the AIDS Solidarity Gala on May 25, 2013, in Vienna, Austria.