Anna Netrebko Answers The Guardian's Probing Questions

Anna Netrebko wears a Zac Posen gown in this
Dario Acosta portrait from 2013.

While in London for performances of La Bohème and in honor of her upcoming engagement at the Royal Albert Hall in Tchaikovsky's Iolanta, Anna Netrebko answered some musical questions posed by The Guardian in their "Facing the Music" series. Find out what music she listens to when traveling the world; why she recently purchased several Aida recordings; her thoughts on concert etiquette when it comes to applause; why the organ is an intriguing instrument to her; that time she enjoyed Elton John and Lady Gaga; the most recent Broadway musical she's seen (and loved...); whether a collaboration with Justin Bieber is in her future; and what she sings in the shower. Read the full questionnaire here.

Anna Netrebko Ushers Out John Copley "La Bohème" At ROH

Living on Love: Rodolfo (Joseph Calleja) and Mimì (Anna Netrebko) struggle to make ends meet,
but they still have each other until death do them part at Covent Garden.

"So now we bid farewell to another dear old friend, as John Copley’s venerable production of Puccini’s weepie, rich in period detail and devoid of interpretative tricks, is being laid to rest after four decades in service, embracing twenty-six revivals and well over two hundred sold-out performances. To be honest, this loyal carthorse of a show does seem a trifle sclerotic nowadays. I’ve seen stagings recently that feel more youthfully raw and emotionally urgent; aspects of its 'realism' look dated; and the second interval slows the pace down unhelpfully. But the tableaux for the snowy Barrière d’Enfer and bustling Café Momus remain wonderfully atmospheric, and the straightforward characterisations never inhibit the singers. Richard Jones, rumoured to be

Herr Direktor: Read more about 
John Copley by clicking here.

commissioned for a replacement, will have his work cut out to provide anything sturdier. Copley, a spry octogenarian, returned to rehearse this final outing and made a lively job of it. Sharp cameos from Ryland Davies (Alcindoro) and Donald Maxwell (Benoit) sprinkled light relief. Marco Vinco’s Colline mourned his pawned coat in style, Lucas Meachem presented an exuberant jock of a Marcello, and Jennifer Rowley was a brassy Musetta, with a touch of Ethel Merman about her gusto....His Mimi was the mercurial Anna Netrebko, in lustrous voice. She is not a subtle artist, and having adjusted her focus to more dramatic repertory, her resinous soprano can’t convey the fragility of the consumptive flower-girl. She also failed to float the rapturous 'ball of light' note at the end of Act I. But she never just phones it in or holds back à la Gheorghiu, and here she gave of herself unstintingly, most notably in an affecting account of the third act - one of Puccini’s most masterly inspirations." [Source]

Future Warning to All Critics Who Want to Become Composers

"Composer Michael Nyman, who wrote the music for Jane Campion’s 1993 film The Piano and is a long-term collaborator with Peter Greenaway, is furious that the Royal Opera House has rebuffed his approaches to stage a work in Covent Garden — and he has threatened to withdraw his tax in protest. Writing about himself in the third person on Facebook, he comments: 'Michael Nyman has just been informed that the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, will never commission an opera and will therefore spend whatever remains of his creative life without a single note of any of his operas, written or unwritten, represented on the stage of any opera house in the UK, ever. Maybe I should withdraw my tax.' Nyman, whose operas include The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat, now lives in Mexico City. He laments: 'They are continuing to pay for new work, but not my work. Maybe they remember when I was a music critic in 1971, there was a laughable production of Rigoletto, which my companion and I laughed at throughout, and John Higgins, arts editor of the Financial Times, complained about ‘two badly behaved people in the Spectator seats’. Enough to kill a career as a composer, I guess.' Over to the Royal Opera House: 'Michael Nyman came to ROH with the proposition for a major operatic piece. Having given serious thought to his suggestion, and listened again to his operatic music in depth, we have decided that for us his musical language is not what we want to pursue in our next commissions. This is not a dismissal of Michael Nyman as a composer in general, nor a statement about the quality of his music, as such things can, of course, not be discussed objectively. In the end, it is a question of taste.'" [Source]

"Aida" Royal Opera House (1968): High Camp AND High Quality

Tony Hall, Chief Executive of the ROH, Takes Risks in Arts

The Guardian interviews Tony Hall about coming from the BBC to Covent Garden and the risks involved with leading an arts organization. He also offers advice for young people hoping to go after a position like his one day. Read the full interview here.

ROH Pays Tribute to Dame Joan Sutherland With New Exhibit

"Dame Joan Sutherland began her professional career at the Royal Opera House in 1952. An exhibition of costumes, photos, programmes and posters has been painstakingly put together. Costumes, headdresses and jewellery from productions such as Lucrezia Borgia designed by Michael Stennett, La Traviata designed by Franco Zeffirelli, Norma designed by Alan Barlow, Anna Bolena designed by John Pascoe and The Midsummer Marriage, designed by Barbara Hepworth, are on display. Exhibitions and Heritage Publications Manager at the Royal Opera House, Cristina Franchi, spoke to BBC News." [Source] Click here to launch the video.

Eglise Gutiérrez Discusses Her Role in ROH "La Sonnambula"

Angela Gheorghiu In Director's Chair (Literally) For Cinema News

Angela Gheorghiu with Sergei Polunin and
Lauren Cuthbertson celebrate the launch
together. (Photo: Nigel Norrington)

"More than 700 cinemas across the world will screen performances from Covent Garden as part of Royal Opera House Cinema, a new venture that was launched yesterday evening. Angela Gheorghiu with Sergei Polunin and Lauren Cuthbertson celebrate the launch of The Royal Opera House's cinema season. It is the first time that Royal Opera and Royal Ballet productions have been broadcast by ROH exclusively. The 2011/12 programme will feature ten shows, five broadcast live and five recently recorded. Tony Hall, ROH chief executive, said: 'What we love about cinema is making what we do here available to as many people as we can – great art, great opera and ballet should be for everybody. If you are thinking, that sounds a little bit pie, it’s also great fun and why shouldn’t people enjoy themselves as they do here too.' The season will open with Faust on September 28 and also includes Adriana Lecouvreur, Tosca, Cendrillon, Il Trittico, Madame Butterfly and Rigoletto, all by the Royal Opera, and the Royal Ballet’s productions of The Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet and La Fille Mal Gardee. Soprano Angela Gheorghiu will star in the first three opera productions of the cinema season, taking the title roles in Adriana Lecouvreur and Tosca and playing Marguerite in Faust." [Source]

Royal Opera House Hosts BAFTA Ceremony

The equivalent of America's Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the U.K.'s British Academy of Film and Television will hold its 2011 ceremony at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. The leading hopeful is The King's Speech with 14 nominations, followed by The Social Network, Black Swan, Inception and True Grit. For a full list of nominees go to www.bafta.org. North American residents can

Mechanic Turned Tenor Thinks Covent Garden Is Snobby

"Former car mechanic Boe, 37 — who was given a three-minute standing ovation at the 25th ­anniversary of Les Miserables at the 02 Arena last year — says he is angry at the treatment he has received in the past because of his working-class background. The youngest of a Roman ­Catholic family of nine from Fleetwood, ­Lancashire, tells me: 'There is a huge class system at work in ­classical music. Years ago, lots of guys came into opera from ­working-class backgrounds, but now it is snooty and elitist.'