From Russia with love

All hail the opera divas of Anna Netrebko and Dmitri Hvorostovsky! Bringing charm and glamour to London’s Royal Festival Hall, as part of its ‘International Voices Series’, the pair took us on a journey of ‘favourite classics and hidden gems from the most popular composers of opera’.

And with neither wanting to be outdone by the other, both displayed flamboyant dress changes that would have put the costume department of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ to shame – and those shoes! Whoever knew Hvorostovsky could look so good in heels? And need we mention the Katherine Jenkins’ Barbie Doll pass-me-down dress for Netrebko?

Clothing aside, this was a concert of the highest calibre with both singers on top form. However, concerts of opera appetizers such as this can all too often turn into a ragbag, and it took a while for things to settle into place here as well, with both singers making surprising choices for their opening arias. First up was Dmitri Hvorostovsky with a highly challenging ‘Wolfram’s Aria’ from Tannhäuser, and not even his dazzling Colgate grin could mask the difficulty of this aria, with its traitorous legato lines and phrases that sit right on the pasaggio of the voice.

It wasn’t long though before the gems were brought out and things were able to really get going. Both chose arias from Gounod’s Faust to wow the audience; Hvorostovsky first displaying graceful legato lines in ‘Avant de quitter ces lieux’ before Netrebko glittered with the ‘Jewel Song’. There’s no doubt that Netrebko has an incredibly warm pallet of colours and tones but in some of the more spritly repertoire, her covered tone can sometimes seem to thicken the sound when it really needs to ping like light on jewel. Notably, it was the Jewel Song from Faust in this programme which lacked the sparkle this aria requires but her charisma and presence still made this a charming performance.

After the interval, came a selection of Italian and Russian pieces and it was Arditi’s ‘Il bacio’ by Netrebko and Verdi’s ‘Cortigiani vil razza’ which showed the singers at their best.

The icing on the cake came in the form of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Closing Duet’ which was emotionally and beautifully performed, drawing the audience in to every nuance of this touching piece.