Soprano Anna Netrebko is causing quite a sensation at the Metropolitan Opera this fall as she takes on the role of Lady Macbeth in Verdi's intensely dark "Macbeth." While she has been receiving rave reviews (one publication named her performance as "one of the greatest triumphs in recent Met History"), the news of her snagging the role was initially met with skepticism:
"Everybody was skeptical about it, even people who were really close to me. Nobody, nobody in this world believed that I could sing Macbeth. It was fun. A big surprise for me, actually!"
But she learned that in order to battle skepticism, you need to force yourself through the fear:
"I'm quite [a] fearless person, but even I sometimes have these moments like, "Stop. What are you doing! And why are you doing that?" But you always have to force yourself."
Netrebko points out that there are benefits to taking on challenging and risky roles such as this. One of the benefits being that taking a risk gives you the confidence to risk again:
"If you're taking risks and it's one fiasco after another, probably you will be not that courageous any more. But if the things go sometimes well, it makes you feel, "Oh! Maybe if I did it once, maybe I can do it another time."
This Saturday, you don't need to travel to New York City to see Netrebko sing Macbeth. You can enjoy the performance via the Metropolitan Opera's Live in HD broadcast at 11:55 a.m. in three Twin Cities area theatres:
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