The humble diva

Thanks to my colleague Steve Smith for passing on the link to a fantastic self-portrait of opera superstar Anna Netrebko. In this rambling monologue, Trebs digs deep and reveals herself to be a complex, troubled…oh, who am I kidding? Among my favorite quotes:

“Breakfast I am eating a hot sandwich, like with the cheese, toasted.”

“I have lots of girl friends but I’m definitely straight.” (This comes out of the blue and seems to be in response to the sapphic rumors swirling around her.)

“In St Petersburg I am living with a girl friend, Katya. Now she has a little baby, who lives with us too.” (Ah, okay then…)

“Though my voice has doubled in the past few years. It started suddenly to be bigger, because I was using the microphone between my tits!”

“I am not a vicious diva.”

“I sleep naked. When it is cold I am wearing the flannel pyjamas.”

Dear Dilettante readers: Be warned that from now on, I will always refer to love scenes in opera as “erotical.”