While there is much to admire here–much–I am startled by the extraordinary press Anna Netrebko is getting. She has been called “a miracle”; it is said that “she has it all”; and further, that she possesses “flawless technique” and “perfect coloratura”. And to be sure, there are remarkable things about her: the sound itself is beautiful, consistent in tone and body from C to C; she can get into some of her characters with great insight; and she often sings with amazing warmth (although some may object to her prominent vibrato). She is a full lyric soprano with pretty good coloratura (except when it’s smeared), no trill at all, and a reliable upper extension to E-flat (except when it’s not reliable).

Her “plusses” are truly in evidence in the Manon excerpt, which is just about perfect–expertly shaped and wonderfully insinuating–except for the high Ds, which are lunged at, unappealing, and in one case, flat. Other high-points: Ilia’s lovely “Padre, germani, addio”; Teresa’s girlish scene from Cellini; Marguerite’s big scene from Faust, full of wonder and round, expertly crafted tone and nicely colored words; and the pre-cabaletta part of Lucia’s “Regnava del silenzio”, which has a fine, schizo way about it and is well sung, save, again, for the very highest notes and (as with Marguerite) when a trill is called for.

Amina’s opening aria from Sonnambula impresses in the way Netrebko caresses words in the early, slow section–yet she can’t control the rapid-fire pyrotechnics of the variations that follow. Her reading of Donna Anna’s “Non mi dir” is way off–she flies sharp, the pianissimo high notes are tenuous, her rhythm is faulty, and she seems more concerned with just getting the notes out than with shaping this admittedly difficult-to-shape aria. The Rusalka aria and Musetta’s waltz are entirely undercharacterized, but they’re beautifully, solidly sung. Accompaniments are good without being particularly special. I definitely want to hear more of Netrebko, but I hope she keeps studying so that she can begin to live up to her critical acclaim. And she’s so at home in the French repertoire that I hope she’ll discover Thaïs and get a chance at an entire Manon soon.