“Ritorna vincitor!” Opera superstar Anna Netrebko’s powerful soprano spilled out over the audience. The Russian singer, on her Australian debut tour with husband tenor Yusif Eyvazov, opened proceedings with the high drama of Aida’s aria urging her love Radamès to victory over the army led by her father – a fraught choice either way.

With a smooth, refulgent soprano, Netrebko showed herself capable of an enormous, seemingly effortless power and flexibility, but also vocal subtlety, crafting some superb pianissimo lines. She was a warm presence as she moved freely around the stage sporting a glittering headpiece, giving a breathy account of Ecco, respire appena…Io son l’umile ancella (from Francesco Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur) and bringing the first half of the concert to a close, joined by Eyvazov, with the duet Già nella note densa from Verdi’s Otello.

Anna NetrebkoYusif Eyvazov, Anna Netrebko, Mikhail Tatanikov, Elchin Azizov and the Opera Australia Orchestra. Photo © David Youdell.

It was her second act performances that were highlights, however, particularly her rendition of Marfa’s aria from Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tsar’s Bride and Ebben? Ne andrò lontano from Alfredo Catalani’s La Wally, which unfurled with exquisite beauty.

Netrebko is a hard act...