Anna Netrebko Makes La Scala Debut in Season-Opening Don Giovanni

Following her star turn in the season-opening production of Anna Bolena at the Metropolitan Opera, Anna Netrebko – the "diva assoluta del mondo" (Opera News) – returns to Europe to reprise one of her most celebrated roles: Donna Anna in Don Giovanni. Having performed Mozart's heroine to rave reviews on tour with the Met and at the Salzburg Festival, Mariinsky Theatre, Vienna State Opera, and Covent Garden (the last of which prompted Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times to praise her "melting poignancy and gleaming power"), the superstar soprano takes her signature portrayal to Milan for her eagerly-anticipated debut at the Teatro alla Scala in a season-opening new production by Robert Carsen (Dec 7–23).

For her long-awaited first La Scala appearance, "the reigning new diva of the early 21st century" (Associated Press) graces a world-class cast that includes leading Mozart specialist Peter Mattei as Don Giovanni and star bass-baritone Bryn Terfel as his beleaguered servant Leporello. Daniel Barenboim, who collaborated with Netrebko on her bestselling 2010 Deutsche Grammophon album In the Still of Night, conducts the production. Don Giovanni's opening-night performance on December 7 will be transmitted in high definition to movie theaters worldwide, as part of Emerging Pictures' Opera in Cinema series.

The Milan performances come on the heels of Netrebko's unbridled success at the Met, where she opened the 2011-12 season in the title role of a new production – and the company premiere – of Donizetti's Anna Bolena. In headlining David McVicar's new staging, she became the face of the Met's season, her image appearing on billboards, buses, and subways all over New York City. On stage, meanwhile, the soprano consistently proved herself an "undisputed superstar" (New York Post); due to what the Associated Press styled her "mesmerizing stage presence" and "uniquely alluring vocal timbre," she "brought down the house" (New York Times). "Netrebko has a voice to die for," marveled the Daily News. "Her voice was sure and luminous throughout and at its most radiant in the dramatic outbursts," agreed the Huffington Post. "Her appeal is deceptively simple: when she sings, you don't want her to stop," confirmed the New York Observer.

Netrebko returns to the Met to reprise Anna Bolena for two dates in February, before undertaking the title role in a new-to-the-Met Laurent Pelly production of Massenet's Manon (March 26 – April 23), which will be transmitted to movie theaters worldwide in the Live in HD series on April 7.

Additional information about Anna Netrebko is available at www.annanetrebko.com, and a list of her upcoming engagements follows.

Anna Netrebko: upcoming engagements

Dec 7*, 10, 13, 16, 20, & 23
Milan, Italy
Teatro alla Scala
Mozart: Don Giovanni (Donna Anna)
* Live HD transmission to movie theaters

Dec 24
Moscow, Russia
Grand Hall of Moscow Conservatory
Rossini: Stabat Mater

Dec 28
Moscow, Russia
Svetlanov Hall
Concert with Erwin Schrott

Dec 30 & 31
Dresden, Germany
Staatskapelle Dresden
New Year's Eve Concert
With conductor Christian Thielemann, tenor Piotr Beczala, and baritone Erwin Schrott

Jan 3
Baden-Baden, Germany
Festspielhaus Baden-Baden
Concert wtih Erwin Schrott

Jan 6
Hannover, Germany
Kuppelsaal
Concert with Erwin Schrott

Jan 9
Mannheim, Germany
Rosengarten Mozartsaal
Concert with Erwin Schrott

Jan 17 & 20
London, UK
Royal Opera House
Verdi: La traviata

Jan 23
Lucerne, Switzerland
Prague Philharmonic
Concert with Erwin Schrott

Jan 26
Stuttgart, Germany
Liederhalle Beethovensaal
Concert with Erwin Schrott

Feb 1 & 4
New York, NY
Metropolitan Opera
Donizetti: Anna Bolena

Feb 29
Berlin, Germany
Berlin State Opera
Benefit concert with Daniel Barenboim

March 26 & 31; April 3, 7*, 11, 14, 17, 20, & 23
New York, NY
Metropolitan Opera
Massenet: Manon
* "Met: Live in H-D" transmission to movie theaters

May 3
Paris, France
Salle Gaveau
Recital with Elena Bashkirova, piano

May 6
Vienna, Austria
Musikverein
Concert with Daniel Barenboim

May 12, 16, 19, 23, & 26
Munich, Germany
Bavarian State Opera
Bellini: I Capuleti e I Montecchi (Giulietta)

May 28
Salzburg, Austria
Salzburg Festival
Concert with Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre St. Petersburg / Valery Gergiev

www.annanetrebko.com