Anna Netrebko frames her recital with the two great heroines of Russian 19th- and 20th- century opera: Tatyana in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin and Natasha in Prokofiev's War and Peace. …Netrebko gives the characters' contrasted moods of anxiety, Natasha full of foreboding, Tatyana bursting with youthful hope. Her soft singing is exquisite and there is none of the edginess in the voice that can sometimes mar Slavonic sopranos. The songs by Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky are heard in rather overblown orchestral arrangements, but Netrebko sings them all with ravishing tone. The Mariinsky Orchestra and Gergiev are, of course, in their element, and the recording, especially the balance between voice and orchestra, is fine throughout. This is the best disc Netrebko has made so far and should make many new friends for Russian opera.