Anna Netrebko earned international acclaim in both the opera world and the German pop charts for her highly controlled, crystal-clear soprano voice and her charismatic stage presence. Anna Netrebko was born in Krasnodar, Russia, on September 18, 1971. She attended the Conservatory of St. Petersburg, where she worked as a floor cleaner in her spare time. It was in virtue of her custodial work, not to mention her vocal talent, that she attracted the attention of conductor Valery Gergiev. He became her mentor, and helped Anna Netrebko land her debut role as Suzanna in Le Nozze di Figaro. After holding down several more leading roles with the Kirov Opera, Anna Netrebko made her American debut in 1995, playing Lyudmila in a San Francisco Opera performance of Ruslan and Lyudmila. She went on to tour the globe, holding down lead roles in War and Peace, La Boheme, and I Capuleti e i Montecchi. She made her debut at the Met in 2002 in the role of Natasha in War and Peace, and the following year found Anna Netrebko with her first full-length album, Opera Arias. Another album, Sempre libera, hit stores in 2004. Anna Netrebko continued to tour heavily over the next few years, garnering praise from critics throughout the world for her performances in Romeo et Juliette, La Traviata, and I Puritani. She often played roles opposite the Mexican tenor Rolando Villazón during this time. In 2006, Anna Netrebko's third release, The Russian Album, hit stores throughout Europe. It peaked in the Top Ten on the German pop charts, paving the way for the release of another album, Forever More (Love Songs, Hits & Duets) (featuring Villazon), which came out early in the following year. Anna Netrebko made her Carnegie Hall debut a couple months after the album was released. ~ Margaret Reges, Rovi