Russian Album
This is a collection of well-to-lesser-known Russian arias by composers from Glinka to Prokofiev, with stops along the way for Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Rachmaninov. The lovely Anna Netrebko remains a glamorous singer, pure of voice, with always-musical phrasing and some exquisitely high soft singing. Particularly fine are a little-known Tchaikovsky Romance with castanets, bassoon, and piccolo adding color; the vivid, Italianate selection from Glinka'sA Life for the Tsar; two lyrical Rachmaninov  songs (here scored for orchestra); and the Letter Scene fromEugene Onegin, which is delivered with the drama of a true singing actress. Otherwise, many of the arias here are slow and have a certain sameness about them. Netrebko sometimes just sings instead of getting inside them. Netrebko's Italian output so far has been far more exciting, but it's great to have this Russian repertoire sung so beautifully on CD.--Robert Levine