Anna Netrebko talks after the opening of Anna Bolena: There’s so much hatred!
On Anna Bolena
“It’s like nothing I’ve ever done before! You’re practically shouting in the lower register for half the opera. [Donizetti] wants that nasty, chesty voice — he wants it to sound uncomfortable!”
“It’s asking so much of the nerves, the body, the emotion. There’s so much hatred! I never thought I could be so angry.”
On “Manca solo a compire il delitto” when she sings B-flat below middle C
“It’s too much! Too hard on my voice at that point,” she exclaimed.
On mezzo-soprano Giovanna (Jane Seymour)
“She is my friend, and she has betrayed me. Suddenly I hate her! But it’s a beautiful hatred.”
On smiling during her applause
“Oh, you saw it? I shouldn’t do that? I was just smiling to the maestro (conductor Marco Armiliato). My way of saying, ‘We did it!'”
and Armiliato’s comment?
“We had our little moment. Actually, I found it cute. I mean, she’s a great diva, a superstar — but don’t forget, she’s human!”
via The Republic
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Italian ballerina Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
