Born in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar in 1971, Anna Netrebko began singing at an early age. She subsequently enrolled to study at the legendary St Petersburg Conservatory where she was discovered by Valery Gergiev, artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre.
The conductor helped develop her talents, and he cast Netrebko in a series of small roles at the Mariinsky. Following the success of the twenty-two-year-old’s debut there as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Gergiev made her an integral part of his formidable ensemble company.
Netrebko’s St Petersburg years set deep foundations of technique and stage experience. She went on to make her debut in the United States at San Francisco Opera in 1995, joined its Merola Opera Program the following year and was soon singing at the world’s leading opera houses on tour with her Mariinsky colleagues and increasingly as a guest artist.
Just listen to the wonderful song by Franz Leher that she sings for you now:
