MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Anna Netrebko / Rolando Villazon - Duets

"There is far more going for Duets, Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon's new Deutsche Grammophon album, than just the chemistry of diva and divo in duo.

The excellent playing of the Staatskapelle Dresden is certainly a major factor in the project's success and the experience of conductor Nicola Luisotti is another. It is no mean feat for the Italian to contribute both baton and baritone when two minor characters turn up on a piece from Rigoletto.

Duets gives us Deutsche Grammophon recording at its lush, plush best. A solitary rising clarinet near the beginning of Puccini's O soave fanciulla registers in immaculate silhouette while the shift from quartet to full, throbbing string section in the Act 4 duet from Gounod's Romeo et Juliette is the stuff that shivers are made of."
(William Dart NZ Herald)

This album is poised to become THE album of 2007. After last year's sensational La Traviata - 365,000 items sold across all formats - Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón's first duets recording will be the most sought-after album of all frontline releases.

'The golden couple' (The Guardian) performs popular love duets from Lucia di Lammermoor, Rigoletto, Roméo et Juliette, Manon, Les Pêcheurs de perles . As a gift to one another, Anna and Rolando also sing in each other's native language with duets from Luisa Fernanda and Iolanta.

The buzz track is Puccini's famous duet from La bohème 'O soave fanciulla!' - a beloved classic that the stage duo frequently incorporates into their concert programmes.