The night has gotten off to a fantastic start. Netrebko is in great form tonight, and she’s obviously at home in her native language. Her pronunciation is perfection. Notably, Oksana Volkova is fantastic, spinning out a mixture of chest voice and beautiful, clear singing. Her first aria was pulled off well, but her breath control could use some work. Both Filippyevna(Larissa Diadkova) and Madame Larina (Elena Zaremba)are fantastic and authoritative mezzo voices. They blend and contrast perfectly and were a pleasure to listen to in the opening portion of the opera. Piotr Beczala gave a fantastic performance of the first aria. He’s in great form, tonight, as well. His”Kuda, kuda” will be something to behold. Kweicien was also very good in his opening aria, but not as memorable as the other performers. He still has the entire opera, though.
Elena Zaremba as Mme Larina and Larissa Diadkova as Filippyevna in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin.”
Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera
Netrebko’s Letter Scene started out as gorgeous and was gorgeous the entire way through. Each section of the aria was distinguishable from the next, matching it’s scattered arrangement. Perfection from beginning to end. Netrebko is a true artist and I can’t wait until I see this on the 12th.
Gergiev is extracting the most perfect sounds out of a top-notch Met orchestra. It’s been a true pleasure to listen to. It has lagged at times, but it’s been overall fantastic.
Opera Teen 