Birthday: September 18, 1971

Residences: St. Petersburg, Russia; New York, NY; Vienna, Austria

Formal Education: St. Petersburg Conservatory

Mentors: Soprano Renata Scotto and conductor Valery Gergiev

Debut on stage: At age 16 as a supernumerary – the back half of a Firebird in Le Coq d’or

Major role debut: At age 22 – Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro at the Mariinsky Theatre

North American debut: In 1995 – Lyudmila in Glinka’s Ruslan and Lyudmila at the San Francisco Opera

Metropolitan Opera debut: In 2002 – Natasha in War and Peace

Recent recordings: Duets album with Rolando Villazón and Russian Album (both on Deutsche Grammophon)

Film and TV appearances: Princess Diaries II (playing herself), 60 Minutes, Good Morning America, CNN, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, among others

Notable Firsts: First opera singer to be named to the TIME 100 list; Duets album holds the record for best European debut for a classical album (No. 3 on German pop charts)

Charitable Involvement: Honorary Director of the Russian Children’s Welfare Society and Global Ambassador to Austrian-based children’s charity SOS-Kinderdorf

Parents: Larissa (deceased) and Yuri

Siblings: Natasha (older sister)

Father’s occupation: Geologist

First job: Washing floors at Mariinsky Theatre (Kirov Opera)

First voice teacher: Tamara Novichenko

Early successes: Gymnastics

Early failures: Basketball and computers

Philosophy: ”Russians always need a little ‘shit’ in our lives – something to be concerned or worried about. If everything is good and we seem completely happy, then we become suspicious!”

Likes: Being with friends, shopping, reading fashion magazines, seeing movies, dancing, and eating

Dislikes: Long trips on airplanes, computers, golf (she tried it), and talking about business

Favorite actor/actress: Brad Pitt / Vivian Leigh

Favorite movie: Dracula (Bram Stoker)

Greatest recent non-professional accomplishment: Won a can-can competition at a night club in St. Petersburg in 2004

Music she listens to: Justin Timberlake, Robbie Williams, Christina Aguilera, Black Eyed Peas

What she would do if she were not an opera singer: ”I would be a surgeon or a painter”

Favorite food: ”Sushi – no, everything”

Favorite drinks: Red wine; champagne

Favorite book: The Master and Marguerite (Bolgakov); Gone with the Wind (Mitchell)

Ali, I pored svega toga, postoje oni koji se trude da na neki način oplemene stvarnost, bar svoju… Sve je više mladih, koji se bave pravom muzikom iz velike ljubavi prema njojj, a da pritom I ne razmišljaju hoće li im to doneti popularnost, karijeru I naravno pun džak para! Oni ne licitiraju I ne traže najmanju jedinstvenu ponudu! Onu daju sve od sebe, da bi na kraju, kao školovani muzičari završili u Knez Mihajlovoj, kao Strassekunstleri. To je surova stvarnost. Ipak, svaka muzika ima svoju publiku, ali treba dozvoliti da dodje do nje, a ne jednostrano plasirti samo onu koja je odavno već nastanila gotovo sve televizije. Pogrešna je vizija koja se ima o operskim pevačicama-debele, masne, iskompleksirane I obavezno zavijaju ili verglaju u nekom od oronulih pozorišta gde je publika isto tako oronula I groblje je zove. Naprotiv, one su žene koje imaju svoj stil, prave dame, prelepog  glasa, koji su godinama školovale I odricale se mnogih zadovoljstava u životu . Srećom, danas je sve više mladih koji rado odlaze u pozorište upravo da bi odgledali neku operu. Isto tako, mlade devojke se sve više odlučuju da školuju svoj glas I bave se klasičnim pevanjem, bez obzira na to koju vrstu muzike zapravo slušaju. U tome I jeste čar ove velelepne umetnosti-ostati slobodan u svojim stavovima i ukusima, a pustiti glas da lebdi I razvija se na pravi način!

In 1995, the 24-year-old Netrebko made her American debut as Lyudmila in Glinka‘s Ruslan and Lyudmila at the San Francisco Opera. Following this successful performance, she became a frequent guest singer in San Francisco. She is known as an acclaimed interpreter of other Russian operatic roles, such as Natasha in Prokofiev‘s War and Peace, Louisa in Betrothal in a Monastery and Marfa in The Tsar’s Bride. Netrebko has also made successful forays into bel canto and romantic roles such as Gilda in Rigoletto, Musetta in La bohème, Giulietta in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, and Elvira in Bellini‘s I puritani.

In 2002, Netrebko made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Natasha in the Met premiere of War and PeaceIn the same year, she sang her first Donna Anna at the Salzburg Festival’s production of Don Giovanni, conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt. She also performed at the Russian Children’s Welfare Society’s major fund raiser, the “Petroushka Ball”. She returned to the Ball in 2003 and 2006 and is an honorary director of the charity.

In 2003, Netrebko performed as Violetta in Verdi‘s La traviata in Munich, the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Los Angeles Opera, and Donna Anna at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Her second album, Sempre Libera, was released the following year. (During that same year, she made a cameo appearance in the film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. She performed a portion of Sempre Libera, and was hailed by Queen Clarisse as “opera’s newest rising star.”) She sang a highly regarded Roméo et Juliette with Rolando Villazón, with whom she also performed in L’Elisir d’Amore in 2005. She later appeared as Violetta Valéry in La traviata at the Salzburg Festival, conducted by Carlo Rizzi, again with Villazón; and in 2008 she performed the same role at Covent Garden to triumphant acclaim on the opening night, opposite Jonas Kaufmann and Dmitri Hvorostovsky in performances conducted by Maurizio Benini. However, she cancelled three subsequent performances due to suffering a bronchial condition. This was the second time she had cancelled her performances at the Royal Opera House, having withdrawn from some performances of Don Giovanni the previous summer due to illness.

On 30 May 2007, Netrebko made her Carnegie Hall debut with Dmitri Hvorostovsky and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. Originally scheduled for 2 March 2006, Netrebko postponed the recital because she did not feel artistically ready.

Netrebko performed at the Last Night of the Proms on 8 September 2007 where she performed “Ah! Se una volta … Ah! Non credea mirarti … Ah! Non giunge” from La sonnambula, “Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiß” (Giuditta) and the song “Morgen!” by Richard Strauss (with violinist Joshua Bell). In the fall of 2007 she reprised her role as Juliette in Romeo et Juliette at the Metropolitan Opera. In December 2007, Netrebko performed for Martin Scorsese, a 2007 Honoree, at the Kennedy Center Honors, and in May 2008 she made a much-awaited debut at the Paris Opera in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, with Joyce DiDonato as her Romeo.

Netrebko was scheduled to perform the role of Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor in October 2008 at the Metropolitan Opera, but due to her pregnancy she decided to drop out of the role.

In her first performance after her maternity leave, Netrebko sang the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor when it opened at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg on 14 January 2009, in a production from the Scottish Opera led by John Doyle. She then sang the same role in January and February 2009 at the Metropolitan Opera. Netrebko appeared as Giulietta in I Capuleti e i Montecchi at the Royal Opera House in Spring 2009, and as Violetta in La Traviata in June 2009 at the San Francisco Opera.

ah, non credea (sonnambula)

While a student at the Saint Petersburg conservatoire, Netrebko worked as a floor cleaner and did odd jobs at Saint Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre. Later, she auditioned for the Mariinsky Theatre, where conductor Valery Gergiev recognized her from her prior work in the theater. He subsequently became her vocal mentor. Under Gergiev’s guidance, Netrebko made her operatic stage debut at the Mariinsky as Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro. She went on to sing many prominent roles with the Kirov Opera, including Amina in La sonnambula, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor.In 1994 she was invited to Riga on the role of Queen of the Night in an independent project “The Magic Flute” (Riga Independent Opera Avangarda Akadēmija. The project’s author and director Michael Mamilov, conductor – David Milnes (U.S.).

In March 2006, Netrebko applied to become an Austrian citizen, receiving her citizenship in late July. According to an interview in the Austrian weekly news, she will live in Vienna and Salzburg. This has led to some backlash in Russia. Netrebko cites the cumbersome and humiliating process of obtaining visas (as a Russian citizen) for her many performances abroad as the main reason for obtaining Austrian citizenship.

In March 2007, Netrebko announced that she would be an ambassador for SOS Children’s Village in Austria, and be a sponsor for the Tomilino village in Russia.

In April 2008, Netrebko announced that she and her fiancé, Uruguayan baritone Erwin Schrott, had married. Their son Tiago Aruã Schrott was born on 5 September 2008 in Vienna.