I'll show you: Anna Netrebko at the Castle Festival in Regensburg
Created: 2022-07-24Updated: 2022-07-24 4:07 PM
By: Markus Thiel
Standing ovations at the end of the gala in the courtyard of Regensburg Palace for (from right) Michelangelo Mazza, Anna Netrebko, Vera Semeniuk, Yusif Eyvazov and Elchin Azizov.
© Odeon Concerte
Outside, the Ukrainian community is demonstrating against the evening, in the inner courtyard, the gala guests are torn from their plastic seats: Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov sing at Princess Gloria's Castle Festival.
A good half hour before the start it gets loud on Emmeramsplatz.
"You're so right!" calls a woman and applauds.
Violent nods in the direction of the group standing silently and holding protest signs in front of the castle.
“Stop Blood, stop Putin,” one reads.
Also “No to the culture of war criminals” and “Anna, how about a benefit concert in the Ukraine?” The approximately 30 women and men belong to the Ukrainian community in Regensburg.
Refugees or people who have been living in the Upper Palatinate for a long time.
They look a little irritated at the lady calling, who turns right into the palace gardens and shows her card there.
Forego the Netrebko concert?
no way.
It is the diva's first appearance in Germany after she became a leper on the opera scene.
Some say that Anna Netrebko brought this on herself by distancing herself from the war but not from Putin with unfortunate statements.
Others denounce the widespread soul-searching: First a bad word against the Russian tsar, then the stage is set – can you ask that of every artist?
The Stuttgarters have just uninvited Netrebko and her husband, tenor Yusif Eyvazov, on September 3rd they should have sung there on the Schlossplatz.
Verona, on the other hand, was merciful.
But Netrebko's Aida there was met with severe criticism because she wore dark make-up.
"Blackfacing", it sounded outraged - even if the Ukrainian alternative cast practiced the same thing.
The Ukrainian community is protesting outside the palace on Emmeramsplatz.
© Markus Thiel
So the standards have slipped a bit.
And the suspicion becomes a certainty in Regensburg: The reality has only limited to do with the waves of indignation in the bubbles on Twitter and those of the cultural-political decision-makers.
Around 3000 people flock to the castle park on this Friday evening.
Where Princess Gloria resides in St. Emmeram, something like Germany's uncrowned queen of the politically incorrect.
The cheapest card is available for 144 euros, the most expensive costs 265 euros.
If you want, you can book the gala menu for 120 euros.
Long evening dresses, platform soles, tuxedos, traditional jackets, even short men's trousers at almost 30 degrees - Netrebko fans come from all walks of life.
Queues at the sparkling wine stands, a BMW with a matt finish heralds one of the sponsors: Does the company now have to justify itself?
It takes a while for everyone to find their place in the sold-out courtyard of the castle.
Many are here for the first time and some have traveled from far away. At the nearby multi-storey car park, a sign says "occupied" 90 minutes before the start.
And the Netrebko?
Doesn't offer a savings program, but goes all out.
It starts from zero to 190 with the complete final scene from Donizetti's "Anna Bolena".
Add to that the end of Verdi's “Aida”, Gounod's Juliette or the great duet of Tchaikovsky's “Pique Dame”: the hit parade moves between “I can still do it” and “I'll show you”.
You can hear a little bit at first: Netrebko is nervous and not quite in training.
But that is possible precisely because she is taking a risk.
Amazement at Anna Netrebko's voice
She was never a chirping mamsell meandering through coloratura.
Nevertheless, the Donizetti has class, especially in Bolena's rage, which also seems to be a bit that of her interpreter.
Everything is there on this two and a half hour summer evening: the effortless dramatic aplomb, the relaxed mezzavoce, a buttery flooding high register.
One is amazed again at a voice that is currently one of the most beautiful.
And about a soloist who gets more and more interested in performing, including little jokes and charming with the audience.
The other half of the Netrebko package does it better.
Yusif Eyvazov is the entertainer.
Spread arms, waving, he has the fans even before the first sound.
He also unpacks the large cutlery: Radames, Manrico, Hermann, in the encore block of course "Nessun dorma",
with which he rips the last one off the plastic seat.
As a designer, the Netrebko man has clearly gained, you will never get used to the sometimes tinny sound of his weatherproof tenor.
As an extra, there is also baritone Elchin Azizov from Eyvazov's Azerbaijani homeland, who contributes, among other things, a powerful, rough-eared Escamillo aria.
Mezzo-soprano Vera Semeniuk acts as the cue giver.
The Hofer Symphoniker conducted by Michelangelo Mazza do very well.
As you can hear, the evening has not been rehearsed, but there are many musical points of contact with the stars.
Ovations, not the slightest expression of displeasure inside.
Outside, the protesters have long since left.
“How many singers today can perform arias by Donizetti and Gounod between performances of 'Aida' and 'Turandot'?
Not many. ”So Netrebko takes care of the criticism herself. Sunday morning at 3 a.m. on Twitter.
