On May 4, 2017 I attended the concert, “Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov in Concert,” which took place at the LA Opera. The performers were Anna Netrebko and her husband, Yusif Eyvazov, along with the LA Opera Orchestra, which was conducted by Jader Bignamini. The performances I enjoyed the most were “Poveri fiori” and “Teco io sto.”

“Teco io sto” was the last piece of the first act and was by far my favorite. Netrebko and Eyvazov conveyed a piercing amount of power and vulnerability in this piece that directly complimented what Giuseppe Verdi must have envisioned as he composed this piece for the opera, Un Ballo in Marchera. From the first few notes, Eyvazov and Netrebko were bursting with a fire unlike anything I had heard in their previous pieces. The quickening rhythmic movements of the strings accented the urgency in their voices at the beginning of the piece. As the song became calmer and was enriched with a mostly major quality, the singers’ voices became softer and had more depth and vulnerability, which beautifully juxtaposed the fiery attacks at the start. The strings were dominating the piece and they moved with the fluidity that was echoed in Netrebko’s flawless and smooth vocals. As the duo alternated in between vocal lines, the orchestra would alternate its own rhythm and dynamics to match the depth and emotion of the person singing. This was a stunning performance of a classic duet.

My second favorite piece was “Poveri fiori” from the French opera, Adriana Lecouvreur, which was composed by Francesco Cilea. Anna Netrebko brought this piece to life in a beautiful way. The minor key helped accentuate the melancholic undertone of the piece. The orchestra in this piece was acting as the background to Netrebko’s vocals, thus creating a homophonic texture. Netrebko’s ability to control her projection to such lengths was absolutely inspiring. When the melody would reach a high focal point, she would not fall into the trap of raising her volume along with the pitch, but would rather maintain the piano—and sometimes pianissimo—on those very high notes and also manage to project it to the farthest corners of the room. The instruments maintained their slow pace while still being able to convey the sorrowful undertones of the piece through the alternating dynamics. This was a powerful piece in its own way, and stood out due to Netrebko’s ability to bring a room to tears with seemingly little effort.

I was conveniently—or inconveniently, depends how you see it—seated at the very front row, so the performances hit me with full force. The audience was extremely excited after every single song that they performed. It is not surprising that Anna Netrebko received such powerful responses from the audience, due to the fact that she is a household name and will always be revered as an opera star. Her husband, Yusif Eyvazov—despite his lesser-known status—received equally powerful responses including many enthusiastically shouted bravos. Netrebko and Eyvazov’s concert was a wonderful experience and a worthy way to spend my Thursday night.