Anna Netrebko: biography and career

“A soprano with star power in the best sense, a charismatic expressivity that pervades every element of her performance.”

– Anthony Tommasini, New York Times

In the course of an illustrious career that began in 1994, Anna Netrebko has arguably become the first reigning prima donna of the 21st century. Star of the season’s opening productions at La Scala in Milan or the Metropolitan Opera in New York, soloist at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, and the first classical music artist to be included in Time magazine's annual list of the world’s 100 most influential people, Netrebko constantly stands out within – and outside -– the opera world.

In live performances and numerous award-winning recordings, her interpretations of opera's most iconic heroines demonstrate a remarkable variety and artistic sensitivity. Her interpretations range from Mozart's operas and bel canto masterpieces (including Bellini's La Sonnambula and Donizetti's Anna Bolena), to French operas (Massenet's Manon and Gounod's Roméo et Juliette), Puccini (from La Bohème to Turandot), Verdi (from La Traviata to Aida to Macbeth), Verismo (Giordano's Andrea Chénier and Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur), Tchaikovsky (from Iolanta to Eugene Onegin), Wagner's Lohengrin, and much more. Her insatiable curiosity for the operatic repertoire promises debuts in yet more roles in the coming seasons.  

Besides regularly starring in productions with the world's leading opera companies, she performs extensively in concerts and recitals on all five continents. Her performances at the World Cup opening ceremony in 2006, at the Waldbühne amphitheatre in Berlin, and in Moscow's Red Square in 2018, were broadcast internationally. A Deutsche Grammophon exclusive artist since 2003, her extensive discography includes full operas, concert repertoire, numerous successful solo albums, and a recording of love duets with her husband, Azerbaijani tenor Yusif Eyvazov. Featuring arias by Verdi, Wagner, Strauss, Puccini, Cilea and Purcell, her most recent album is Amata dalle tenebre, released in November 2021, while her 2016 solo album, Verismo, debuted at no. 1 in the classical music charts in dozens of countries.

Her numerous awards and accolades include three Grammy Award nominations, the Bambi Award in Germany, and the Classical BRIT Awards in the UK as “Singer of the Year” and “Female Artist of the Year”. 

She is a global ambassador for Chopard jewellery.

Born in 1971 in Krasnodar, Russia, she studied singing at the St. Petersburg Conservatory and completed the Merola Opera Program in San Francisco. She is a devoted mother and a passionate defender of the causes of disadvantaged children through the various associations she has supported for many years.

Since her debut at the Arena di Verona in 2019 as Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore, Anna Netrebko has appeared every year, playing the title roles of Turandot (twice) and Aida, as well as participating in the summer festival “Nel cuore della musica”. She opens the 100th Opera Festival in 2023 in a new production of Aida and returns to play Violetta in La Traviata for one night only.

Credits: 

Creative Direction: Julius Poole 
Photography: Olga Rubio Dalmau 
Stylist: Emilia Teresa
Hair: Roman Klammer 
Makeup: Nieves Elorduy 
Shot at Ppmnext Photo & Studio, Vienna, Austria