‘I am the humble handmaid of the genius of art,” Anna Netrebko sings, eyes raised chastely heavenwards. But when you’re the most famous soprano of your generation, humility looks a little different. An “intimate recital” involves more than 2,000 fans, guest stars, the stage of the Royal Opera House and, at the centre of it all, Netrebko herself: a vision in silk and diamonds.
Protests may have greeted the Russian soprano’s controversial return to the Royal Opera in Tosca last autumn, but the streets were quiet and there were only cheers from a sold-out house to welcome her this time. No programme was announced in advance (Why bother when you can fill the seats with your name alone?) but there was something for everyone in this crowd-pleasing set – substantially toured in various versions over the past five years – whose two halves clustered loosely around themes of day and night.
