The diva is in: Anna Netrebko's second disc of opera arias confirms her status as a superstar in the making.(Recordings)(Opera Review)

Anna Netrebko

"SEMPRE LIBERA"

Opera scenes and arias. With Mingardo; Pirgu, Ulivieri, Concetti; Coro Sinfonico di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Abbado. Texts and translations. Deutsche Grammophon 4748002

It's impossible to imagine a soprano with more going for her than Anna Netrebko. Her rapid ascent to superstardom has been fueled by the confluence of her movie-starlet looks, her arresting stage presence and the romantic story of her humble beginnings, scrubbing floors at St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Theater. Still, the Cinderella backstory would count for nothing if Netrebko couldn't deliver the goods vocally, which she does with an expansive, glamorous lyric coloratura. This release follows on the heels of her best-selling debut disc, Opera Arias, and plants Netrebko on bel canto terra firma, with the soprano calling cards from La Traviata, Lucia di Lammermoor, La Sonnambula and I Puritani. But this new disc is not just an excuse to put Netrebko's fabulous features on the cover of another package of familiar repertoire; Sempre Libera is the announcement of a true diva.

Netrebko is a vocal chameleon, possessing a wider range of colors than many sopranos in this repertoire. The role of Violetta, often cited for its wide-ranging (one might say schizophrenic) vocal demands, appears to be tailor-made for her. Here, we are treated to "Ah, fors'e lui.... Sempre libera," which she builds from introspection to an increasingly desperate assertion of her free will. Netrebko has one of the most beautiful high Cs around, and her coloratura is both accurate and expressive. The entire thing is shot through with real sensuality, and the light reediness of Saimir Pirgu's tenor accentuates the tragic contrast between a voluptuous woman of the world and a kid who lacks the courage of his convictions.

As Bellini's sleepwalking Amina, Netrebko spins out a sound both sumptuous and innocent in "Ah! Se una volta sola." She then allows a touch of Russian darkness to lend pathos to the bad-dream cavatina, "Ah, non credea mirarti," without suddenly sounding like a different character. Her awakening, "Ah, non giunge," introduces yet a third ...