Interview with Netrebko

I went out for a latte this morning, and on my way I ran into a marathon running on Fair Oaks Blvd, blocking my route to Borders. That's right, I'm still in Sacramento. It turned out to be lunch time, so I went on to Starbucks, bought a salad--about all I'm allowed to eat these days--and sat down to read the New York Times.

This interview with Anna Netrebko in the magazine is excellent. He talks about nasty bloggers, but I want to go on record that I am not one of them. I loved going to LA to see Manon, which I reported on here. The interview quotes Anna on the subject of Manon: "She's not a deep character. So it has to be funny, silly, charming, erotical -- not dark. She's not evil. She's like, I screw up my life, but, well, too bad!" I laughed out loud in the Starbucks. I loved this production of Manon, too. This is my current favorite.

I even stuck up for Anna when she canceled. I am a big Netrebko fan. I am the person who knows secrets and does not tell them. I even know someone who.... No. Can't tell that either. Right now I am trying to find my way into the movie theater in London that is showing R&J on December 15, so far with no luck. If you know of an extra ticket, could you let me know? I will tell you one of my secrets.

I especially like this quote about Gergiev: "There are so many young singers he's given opportunities to -- big roles at a young age, which never happens in America. They have what they call the young artists' programs, but what they're really doing is putting singers in their graves. They're sitting there in the big theaters wasting their best years, studying, covering, looking at the big stars. It's so wrong. You can never learn to sing if you are just watching." I agree. Do this for one year tops. Rule in hell rather than serve in heaven.

She is charming. After my colossal bad luck at meeting the Italian, I am reluctant to try to meet Netrebko. Cats and dogs love me.