Anna Netrebko / Dmitri Hvorostovsky / Philharmonia Orchestra - Royal Festival Hall, 18 January 2010
Anna pinched Katherine's frock, Katherine Jenkins nabbed Anna Netrebko's erstwhile partner. So all's square. But who could fill the gaping Rolando-sized slot at Anna's side? Who could sing like a god, hold the stage as an equal, and match her for costume changes?
Step forward Dmitri Hvorostovsky, trussed into the tightest trousers and highest heels ever sported in the service of opera. No more puffy 'ethnic' blouses for Dmitri, squeezed first into cutaway satin, then clinging velvet, like a cross between a Chippendale and a Vegas magic act.
Not to be outdone, Anna slipped into a black ballgown so daringly low cut she must have superglued her bewbs into position (no pics, but see her in the same gown on Carlos's blog here), followed in the second half by Katherine's hand-me-down. Though she's not quite back down to fighting weight, Anna has clearly shed most of her post-baby surplus and - though there's been speculation - it didn't look to me as if there's another one on the way.
The programme wasn't particularly adventurous, but it was well balanced. And I doubt if any in the cocktail-gowned audience had come to hear extracts from Wozzeck anyway. At least it was good value, with four solos from each and a duet to end each half.
Both began with odd and difficult choices. Never the Wagnerian, Hvorostovsky's O Du, mein holder Abendstern from Tannhäuser sounded gritty and pressured. And Strauss's Cäcilie demanded a lighter more effortless tone than Netrebko was able to produce.
A selection from Faust was more accommodating. Hvorostovsky's elegant legato ease in Avant de quitter ces lieux was matched by Netrebko's playful Jewel Song, where only her dragging overweight coloratura let her down. Together at last in the Pagliacci duet which closed the first half, they coaxed each other into a convincing display of simmering passions.
But if the first half had been uneven, the second was a different matter. Netrebko sprang out in her Barbie frock and delivered a sparkling, teasing Il Bacio followed by a wistfully intense Song to the Moon. Hvorostovsky's Rigoletto sacrificed a little beauty of tone for dramatic effect and was all the better for it. But singing in Russian for the first time all evening seemed to uncork something even deeper within, and his aria from Pique Dame was simply stunning.
The best was left to the end. It's hard to imagine the final scene from Eugene Onegin being sung with more conviction, fatalistic purpose or tragic effect. Absolutely heartstopping stuff.
But we weren't to go home sniffling into our hankies - Anna returned to flounce barefoot and winking through Meine Lippen, sie kussen so heiss and Dmitri to strut the Russian favourite Dark Eyes (not Moscow Nights as the experienced professionals of the British press - nice bet hedge Nick - seem to have heard from halfway to the car park).
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the programme in full:
Gioachino Rossini: Overture, William Tell
Richard Wagner: O Du, Mein Holder Abendstern (Song to the evening star) (Tannhäuser, Act 3) [DH]
Richard Strauss: Cäcilie, Op.27 No.2 [AN]
Hector Berlioz: Rakoczi March (The Damnation of Faust)
Charles Gounod: Avant de quitter ces lieux (Faust) [DH]
Charles Gounod: Jewel Song (Ah, je ris) (Faust) [AN]
Ruggiero Leoncavallo: Intermezzo (Pagliacci)
Ruggiero Leoncavallo: Nedda! Silvio, a quest'ora (Duet) (Pagliacci) [AN, DH]
Interval
Luigi Arditi: Il Bacio (The Kiss) [AN]
Giuseppe Verdi: Overture, La forza del destino
Giuseppe Verdi: Cortigiani, vil razza dannata (Rigoletto) [DH]
Antonin Dvorak: O silver moon (Rusalka) [AN]
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Yelensky's Aria (The Queen of Spades) [DH]
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Polonaise (Eugene Onegin)
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Final scene from Eugene Onegin [AN, DH]
Encores: Meine Lippen, sie kussen so heiss [AN]; Очи чёрные ('Dark Eyes') [DH]
