# What should we call Anna Netrebko?



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Leading sopranos have been called throughout history "la stupenda," "la virtuosa," la divina," etc.

What should we call the most dominant soprano of our generation, Anna Netrebko?

OK, before someone gets a beef with me calling her the most dominant soprano of our generation, sorry, but she is. Most spectacular voice technique? Nah... but this didn't stop Maria Callas.

In terms of mediatic impact, star power, being the face of opera, and so on and so forth, Anna *is* the leading soprano these days.

So, suggestions are appreciated.


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## the_emptier (Jan 27, 2011)

Hmmm, i'm not sure. Maybe i can give further insight once i listen to her tomorrow via Don Pasquale (on the radio)


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

the_emptier said:


> Hmmm, i'm not sure. Maybe i can give further insight once i listen to her tomorrow via Don Pasquale (on the radio)


Hey, you have to *see* her to get the full impact of her, cough, cough, assets.


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## Rasa (Apr 23, 2009)

La Belissima


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Rasa said:


> La Belissima


Excellent idea!:tiphat:


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## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

La Russa!

Or Bellissima works too...


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

OK, how do we make La Bellissima official? We should spread the word... get it to her fan clubs... shout it at her performances...:trp:


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## Lipatti (Oct 9, 2010)

By the way, I came across this video some days ago... I hope this is not going to become a habit of hers


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Lipatti said:


> By the way, I came across this video some days ago... I hope this is not going to become a habit of hers


Wow. This is terrible. Such a beautiful voice and such a beautiful woman (she looks positively gorgeous on this clip) involved with such tacky music.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

I always call her Alma's Anna.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> I always call her Alma's Anna.


Hmmm... sure, but she's not likely to be internationally recognized as Alma's Anna.

What about The Hot One? La Calda?


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Rasa's suggestion can't be improved upon, so La Belissima it must be.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

OK. I've written to the editor of Opera News and asked him to consider it. Seriously. If anyone wants to do it as well, it's [email protected]. His name is Mr. Driscoll.

If you guys know of blogs, other magazines, etc, spread the word!!


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> OK. I've written to the editor of Opera News and asked him to consider it. Seriously. If anyone wants to do it as well, it's [email protected]. His name is Mr. Driscoll.
> 
> If you guys know of blogs, other magazines, etc, spread the word!!


_La Belissima_ suits her very well - will spread the word if I can. Have you contacted Carlos?


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

sospiro said:


> _La Belissima_ suits her very well - will spread the word if I can. Have you contacted Carlos?


Thanks, I have sent him an email. Annie, you know of many blogs, see if you can send this idea to others as well.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Hope it catches on.

Facebook


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Haha this is serious stuff


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

sospiro said:


> Hope it catches on.
> 
> Facebook


How do we post on her wall? It looks like this page is locked and only her entourage can post on it.
I'd like to suggest the "La Bellissima" nickname on her wall, or send the message to her or to whoever manages her page. Do you know how to do it?


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> How do we post on her wall? It looks like this page is locked and only her entourage can post on it.
> I'd like to suggest the "La Bellissima" nickname on her wall, or send the message to her or to whoever manages her page. Do you know how to do it?


I'm not very good with Facebook. I posted a 'comment' saying I thought she was lovely and that she was "La Bellissima". The comment showed but when I looked later it had disappeared.


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## the_emptier (Jan 27, 2011)

all of those pages are definitely fan made, and to be able to post something you would have to "like" it first, thus kind of subscribing you to that page so you can see updates. but certainly liking it and posting the idea would be helpful as well, seeing as she has 50k fans on it


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

the_emptier said:


> all of those pages are definitely fan made, and to be able to post something you would have to "like" it first, thus kind of subscribing you to that page so you can see updates. but certainly liking it and posting the idea would be helpful as well, seeing as *she has 50k fans on it*


Wow. We could fill a football stadium with Anna's fans.

But why did Annie's message disappear?


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

I think that our best chance is to regularly start referring to her in a casual manner as "La Bellissima" on this and other forums and hopefully it will catch on.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> But why did Annie's message disappear?


It's there now.

If the name appears often enough on the internet it should start to crop up in searches then we (well Rasa  ) can claim to be the original source. And, on behalf of TalkClassical, Alma can get invited to receive her appreciation & gratitude.


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

sospiro said:


> And, on behalf of TalkClassical, Alma can get invited to receive her appreciation & gratitude.


Hmm, maybe it would be a good idea for me to start a "what should we call Renée Fleming" thread. :lol:


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

jhar26 said:


> Hmm, maybe it would be a good idea for me to start a "what should we call Renée Fleming" thread. :lol:


Hmm... La Cougarissima?:lol:

Cougar in Italian is coguaro. La Coguarissima... maybe. It doesn't sound so good.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

OK, folks, I have contacted Mr. Vanderveen, Anna's manager, about this idea of "La Belissima." I'll let you know what he says, if he replies.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Thrilling news: I wrote to Anna's manager and did get an answer. He forwarded the email to another one of her agents, a Mr. Sean Michael Gross, who then indeed consulted Anna about it and replied directly to me. According to him, when Anna learned about our idea of nicknaming her "La Bellissima" she reacted by being flattered and was thankful for having fans like us. Whether he did or not, I can't be sure (maybe he gets lots of these letters and gives a canned reply), but he did say that he talked to her about it. He said she couldn't directly endorse the idea because she is a humble person but we should feel free to go ahead and promote this nickname for her.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> Thrilling news: I wrote to Anna's manager and did get an answer. He forwarded the email to another one of her agents, a Mr. Sean Michael Gross, who then indeed consulted Anna about it and replied directly to me. According to him, when Anna learned about our idea of nicknaming her "La Bellissima" she reacted by being flattered and was thankful for having fans like us. Whether he did or not, I can't be sure (maybe he gets tones of these letters and gives a canned reply), but he did say that he talked to her about it. He said she couldn't directly endorse the idea because she is a humble person but we should feel free to go ahead and promote this nickname for her.


Woohoo!! You did it!! Hopefully search engines will begin to deliver *Anna Netrebko - La Bellissima*

Smilies for this news!!


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Wow, that's great. Nice reaction from Anna. And it's good for our own place in history as well. We'll be mentionned in biographies and encyclopedias as the first people to call Anna La Bellissima. :lol:


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

OK, I let Carlos who manages Anna's fan blog and facebook fan page know about Anna's take on this, and asked for his cooperation in diffusing the idea. I'll be encouraging all fans everywhere (I do participate of other opera boards) to start using the moniker so that it shows up in search engines. Like I said, I made the suggestion to the editor of Opera News as well. Whoever here has other contacts in the opera world, please do the same.

In my opinion, what we all should do is just informally start inserting the nickname in posts and blog entries etc, like "Anna Netrebko a.k.a. "La Bellissima" will apear at the Royal Opera House on... such and such date... in the role of .... " and so on and so forth. From now on, even simple comments like "I've just watched the DVD of Anna in Lucia di Lamermoor and liked it" will become "I've just watched the DVD of Anna Netrebko "La Bellissima" in Lucia... etc," in order to get more search hits. Comments on YouTube, reviews of CDs and DVDs on Amazon.com, in summary everywhere I talk about Anna, I'll insert the moniker. I intend to say it out loud together with "Brava" every time I attend one of her live performances. The more fans get involved, the easier it will be for this moniker to spread like fire on powder, since I think it fits her so well. Kudos to Rasa for the idea, and let's carry it on!

This "attachment" to her name and the use of her full name instead of just "Anna" is important in order to start getting these words associated in search engines, so as much as it imparts some artificiality onto our informal posts about her, I encourage everybody here who is a fan of hers to do the same. We know why we're doing it. Once it catches, we can go back to just writing Anna, but for now, the full Anna Netrebko "La Bellissima" will be instrumental in getting this idea to catch.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Almaviva said:


> In my opinion, what we all should do is just informally start inserting the nickname in posts and blog entries...


I'll call Anna "La Bellissima" if you'll call Jonas "El Guapo" and John Relyea (for Annie) "Il Cioccolatissimo"



sospiro said:


> John Relyea: That voice is like 70% dark chocolate.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> I'll call Anna "La Bellissima" if you'll call Jonas "El Guapo" and John Relyea (for Annie) "Il Cioccolatissimo"


Hey, you're proposing that you give me one if I give you two! Not fair!


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> ... Jonas "El Guapo" and John Relyea (for Annie) "Il Cioccolatissimo"


I like those!

MAuer's *His Kaufmann-ness* is hilarious but it's not really a nickname.

And Natalie, I've just found a fairly easy recipe for cioccolatissimo. I could eat it while I listened to _Don Quichotte_.


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

I don't know about the importance of these special titles/nicknames for singer......

Better marketing path is to have a *simple but unique distinctive last name* that becomes used in place of your full name......once you become an opera icon.

I rarely see the term La Divina used when referring to Maria Callas, but "Callas" term is so famous it is like a trademark signature and instantly recognizeable worldwide

Callas
Tebaldi
Pavarotti
Domingo

"Netrebko" has good potential to be an iconic trademark last name if her work lives up to the very high standards needed, she is off to a good start and has strong fan support


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

Okay, Ich kann Deutsch -- but haven't spoken Spanish since my junior year of high school (which was more years ago than I care to remember). So, what the heck does "el Guapo" mean?


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## Sebastien Melmoth (Apr 14, 2010)

'guapo' means 'handsome' in Español.

What should we call Anna?

Perhaps we should call her a doctor, since she called in sick at the MET last Saturday!


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Sebastien Melmoth said:


> 'guapo' means 'handsome' in Español.
> 
> What should we call Anna?
> 
> *Perhaps we should call her a doctor*, since she called in sick at the MET last Saturday!


Hehehe, this is hilarious!:lol:

:tiphat:


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

sospiro said:


> And Natalie, I've just found a fairly easy recipe for cioccolatissimo. I could eat it while I listened to _Don Quichotte_.


From the calorie count in that one you'd need to eat it *after *a ten mile run listening to Don Quichotte on your headphones.


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## Il Seraglio (Sep 14, 2009)

I don't see the parallels with Callas. Yes, both are lacking on the technical side, but Callas does everything she possibly can to make up for it. Her singing as Violetta in La Traviata is nerve-shattering in the best possible way.

I've got nothing against Netrebko as a person and I'm no expert on her, but she always sounds tired to me. No inspiration or drive.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Il Seraglio said:


> I don't see the parallels with Callas. Yes, both are lacking on the technical side, but Callas does everything she possibly can to make up for it. Her singing as Violetta in La Traviata is nerve-shattering in the best possible way.
> 
> I've got nothing against Netrebko as a person and I'm no expert on her, but she always sounds tired to me. No inspiration or drive.


Really? No inspiration or drive? Look at this clip and see what she does at 2'23" and again at 3'50":


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## Il Seraglio (Sep 14, 2009)

Almaviva said:


> Really? No inspiration or drive? Look at this clip and see what she does at 2'23" and again at 3'50":


She actually reminds me a little bit of Birgit Nilsson singing in German (hope that doesn't have her turning in her grave). Mostly in that her voice is big and dramatic. She sounds better not singing Bel Canto anyhow. I think perhaps the words I was looking for were 'lack of agility' as opposed to 'lack of drive'.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Il Seraglio said:


> She actually reminds me a little bit of Birgit Nilsson singing in German (hope that doesn't have her turning in her grave). Mostly in that her voice is big and dramatic. She sounds better not singing Bel Canto anyhow. I think perhaps the words I was looking for were 'lack of agility' as opposed to 'lack of drive'.


Yes, vocal agility has never been her forte. She is not a coloratura soprano, but is thrown into these roles by popular demand, because they often call for an attractive woman and she obviously fits *that* bill. But physical agility, oh boy, she is very energetic on stage. I've seen her live in Don Pasquale and it was unbelievable. She was funny, running all over the place, jumping up and down, feisty... It was spectacular.

And her performance in the Salzurg La Traviata 2005 while not vocally ideal, was a formidable acting job, and she sang in all kinds of positions, upside down, running around on stage... no wonder she sounds tired sometimes. In an interview to Opera News she said she didn't want DG to release that performance on CD because she sounded breathy, for good reason, which someone watching it on DVD or blu-ray can understand.

Anna has stupendous stage presence. If you don't think so, I'd risk the hypothesis that you haven't seen her often enough in full operas, especially live.

I'll never pretend that she has the best voice technique or articulation (although she has made enormous progress and has been singing better and better, unlike other sopranos who get worse with age), but in matters of drive, inspiration, stage presence, acting ability, she isn't behind anybody currently (Natalie Dessay and Renée Fleming would be the two closest competitors, I'd think), and can hold her own against the greats of the past. And while her articulation can be faulty, her voice does sound extremely beautiful.

But then, I know I'm biased when I talk about Anna, so, you can take my opinion or leave it.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

Wow, does this lady know how to work an audience! (Gee, I wonder if those of us who are El Guapo fans could persuade him to remove his shoes . . . or something else . . . during one of his concerts!)

It will be interesting to hear (and see) La Bellissima in the role of Anna Bolena. From a visual standpoint, she's ideal for the part of "Black Nan," so dubbed by her contemporaries for her black hair and dark eyes. And she should have no problems projecting the personal allure that so captivated Henry.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

MAuer said:


> Wow, does this lady know how to work an audience! (Gee, I wonder if those of us who are El Guapo fans could persuade him to remove his shoes . . . or something else . . . during one of his concerts!)
> 
> It will be interesting to hear (and see) La Bellissima in the role of Anna Bolena. From a visual standpoint, she's ideal for the part of "Black Nan," so dubbed by her contemporaries for her black hair and dark eyes. And she should have no problems projecting the personal allure that so captivated Henry.


Very true, very true!:tiphat:


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## Der Fliegende Amerikaner (Feb 26, 2011)

Anna Netrebkoverated


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Der Fliegende Amerikaner said:


> Anna Netrebkoverated


You are entitled to your views - could you elaborate?


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Der Fliegende Amerikaner said:


> Anna Netrebkoverated


Holy crap that's fighting talk on this forum :lol: .


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

[Almaviva oils his machine gun]:devil:


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## vasysm (Oct 27, 2011)

How about "La Bellina"? Sort of "the cute one"... and matches some opera composer too


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## kv466 (May 18, 2011)

Hmmm, some pictures create words such as 'pretty opera singer'.

Others, however, conjure up images and words I simply cannot say here :devil:


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## MAnna (Sep 19, 2011)

She also might appreciate being honored in Russian. Maybe a play on words such as 

"KRASIVAnYA".


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

MAnna said:


> She also might appreciate being honored in Russian. Maybe a play on words such as
> 
> "KRASIVAnYA".


Which means?


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## MAnna (Sep 19, 2011)

Almaviva said:


> Which means?


Contraction for KRASIVAYA ANNA - or "beautiful Anna". ("Anya" would be the familiar, informal, friendly form for Anna) . Anyway, this was a point of departure for Russian speakers to chime in.


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)




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## CountessAdele (Aug 25, 2011)

Who was nick named La Virtuosa? The lovely Joyce Didonato inadvertantly gave herself her nickname, _The Yankee Diva_, which I love!


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

CountessAdele said:


> Who was nick named La Virtuosa? The lovely Joyce Didonato inadvertantly gave herself her nickname, _The Yankee Diva_, which I love!


 
La Virtuosa


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## Parnassus (Nov 4, 2011)

'La Bellissima' is already taken up by Anna Moffo (see the Italian Wikipedia's 'Anna Moffo' entry).


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Too late. Now it's taken up by both. See the English Wikipedia 'Anna Netrebko' entry.


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## CountessAdele (Aug 25, 2011)

Almaviva said:


> La Virtuosa


 thanks, I can't believe I didn't know that!


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## Parnassus (Nov 4, 2011)

You're right... Shame, that's a bit boring, to have somebody else's nickname usurped, especially when it comes to such high profile individuals. I'm sure some other, unique term could've been found. But if it's her beauty her fans want to focus on...


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Well, Anna Moffo had a great voice and the fans still wanted to call her La Bellissima. I think it is quite OK to praise these singers for their looks since looks are part of their artistry (opera being a theatrical art as well, not exclusively musical art) - just like for Jonas Kaufmann and the El Guapo nickname. Since beauty is not something that only gifts one single person, I think it's also OK that we now have two sopranos nicknamed La Bellissima. Maybe Anna Netrebko could be La Bellissima # 2! After all, coming after Anna Moffo is actually quite honorable (one of my favorite past singers both for voice and looks).

They are two bellissimas Annas... and they both have beautiful voices as well.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

MAnna said:


> Contraction for KRASIVAYA ANNA - or "beautiful Anna". ("Anya" would be the familiar, informal, friendly form for Anna) . Anyway, this was a point of departure for Russian speakers to chime in.


Oh, I've seen people pronouncing her name like in Anya and had always assumed that this was the Russian way of pronouncing Anna. So in Russian Anna doesn't have this ag sound like in the Italian agnello?


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

Der Fliegende Amerikaner said:


> Anna Netrebkoverated


I just about spat my coffee all over my computer. Well done, sir!


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## vasysm (Oct 27, 2011)

Bellina would be just fine (she's pretty, but I've seen better beauties).

Casta Diva she is not


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Couchie said:


> I just about spat my coffee all over my computer. Well done, sir!


A small nuclear device mounted on a land-to-air missile has already been dispatched by the World Association of Anna Netrebko's Defenders to the last location where Der Fliegende Amerikaner was spotted flying up there. By now I'd expect that Anna's detractor has been already disposed of. Of course, some doppelganger using the same screen name may still come here and post some more, but the original one is kaput.:devil:


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## MAnna (Sep 19, 2011)

Almaviva said:


> Oh, I've seen people pronouncing her name like in Anya and had always assumed that this was the Russian way of pronouncing Anna. So in Russian Anna doesn't have this ag sound like in the Italian agnello?


Anya is a common diminutive form for Anna (similar to Danny for Daniel). The two forms are spelled differently in Russian.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

I think she should be called: Kompstrumcziwadze.


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## jfmurray (Dec 3, 2011)

On the Wellsung blog, they had been referring to her as "Trebs", which I always thought was a cute nickname as she sings so beautifully in the treble clef. La Bellissima seems appropriate, as it can describe her physical features as well as the voice. Before getting a good, solid Italian nickname, though, I think she should have about 5-10 more years of superb performances to earn the sobriquet. 

Renee Fleming had been christened La Portamenta (or La Portaméenta by Siegliende's Diaries) on Opera-L and Parterre Box, where she is also referred to as Renaaaay (not sure why).


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## kv466 (May 18, 2011)

Kinda wish I would've caught this one at post no.2 :devil:


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

jfmurray said:


> Renee Fleming had been christened La Portamenta (or La Portaméenta by Siegliende's Diaries) on Opera-L and Parterre Box, where she is also referred to as Renaaaay (not sure why).


I rather like La Scoopenda myself.


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